Chilling

Cash prices overall lurched higher Wednesday as weather forecasts continued to call for bone-chilling winds across major Midwest and eastern market centers. Without the multi-dollar gains posted at a handful of Northeast points, the average national gain was 8 cents, but with those gains factored in, the average rose to 21 cents.

Cash gas prices on average jumped 63 cents Thursday as forecasts of chilling cold rattled through the markets and lifted New England and Eastern points to multi-dollar gains. Without the stout gains on the Eastern Seaboard, the overall market gain shrinks to just 3 cents.

A petition by Southern Natural Gas (SNG) pipeline to amend a stipulation and agreement requiring it to file a new rate case by the end of February has come under attack at FERC.

With North America girding once more to do battle with bone-chilling temperatures and plenty of icy precipitation, higher prices came as a surprise for no one Friday. Multi-dollar leaps reigned again in the Northeast, while the rest of the market saw gains ranging from about a nickel to nearly 30 cents. The smallest increases were concentrated in the Midcontinent and Rockies areas.

The continuation of bone-chilling cold in a number of high gas usage regions allowed February natural gas futures on Monday to rebound from Thursday’s storage report-induced slump. The prompt-month contract recorded a high of $5.894 in morning trade and went on to close out the regular session at $5.884, up 31.2 cents from Thursday’s finish.

Even as most of the country hunkered down under winter’s first real bone-chilling cold spurt, a number of declines in cash market point averages were sprinkled in with the gains in Tuesday deals for Wednesday delivery.

A severe cold snap over the last couple weeks gave natural gas markets a chilling foretaste of the next year in Canadian supplies by freezing about 10% of production over the past fortnight, industry analysts said early last week.

A severe fall cold snap gave natural gas markets a chilling foretaste of the next year in Canadian supplies by freezing about 10% of production over the past fortnight, industry analysts say.

The weather was due to turn a bit colder Friday but not match the super-frigid conditions of the Presidents Day holiday weekend until Saturday and Sunday. So with the previous day’s screen plunge of 44.8 cents for guidance, cash prices fell at all points Thursday. Nearly all losses were in double digits.