Cases

In quiet trading for the Independence Day weekend, prices fell at nearly all points Friday, with a few cases of flat to slightly higher numbers interspersed. Losses ranged from a couple of pennies to about 40 cents.

In the latest in a long series of gas market manipulation cases, former Williams trader Brion Scott McKenna, 36, of Houston, TX, pleaded guilty on May 20 to one count of manipulating the price of natural gas in interstate commerce in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.

Prices were mostly softer again Thursday, but the declines were smaller than Wednesday’s in nearly all cases and a few flat to slightly higher points emerged Thursday. Although moderating weather trends were under way, temperatures in the Northeast and Midwest are due to remain below normal entering the weekend, and highs in the 100s will continue in the desert Southwest.

In the latest in a long series of gas market manipulation cases, former Williams trader Brion Scott McKenna, 36, of Houston, TX, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of manipulating the price of natural gas in interstate commerce in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.

Day-earlier futures pointed the way for the cash market most of last week, but in most cases Friday prices refused to go along with Thursday’s 6.1-cent screen gain. Instead they bowed to the reality of light weather-based demand, abundant storage inventories and the drop in industrial load that is typical of a weekend market.

Prices continued to rise at a majority of points Wednesday, but in nearly all cases the gains were smaller than the day before, with few reaching double digits. Flat to slightly lower quotes at some points in several areas kept the cash market from a solid bull run.

Except for a smidgen of flatness at two Northwest Pipeline points, prices increased across the board Thursday as freezing temperatures — in some places approaching zero degrees — threatened to spread from the already frigid Midwest into the Northeast and to a limited extent into parts of the South.

The big price run-ups for the last two days of September that had dazzled (and befuddled in many cases) cash traders failed to survive the month-to-month transition, for the most part. In Thursday’s highly volatile trading for the initial October aftermarket, a few scattered points ranged from flat to slightly higher or lower, while Henry Hub and Texas Eastern M-2 were conspicuous with their gains of nearly 15 cents and 20 cents respectively.

Prices continued to rise across the board Tuesday, although in nearly all cases the increases were smaller than those of the previous day. Fundamental market influences remained fairly weak for the most part, but the combination of a substantial amount of offshore production remaining shut in and the natural gas screen joining the rest of Nymex’s energy futures products in new run-ups was able to push cash numbers higher again.