Citygates

With super-cold weather not yet arrived but on the way, Northeast citygates soared Thursday, with some points rising a dollar or more. But otherwise there wasn’t much price strength to be found in trading for the long holiday weekend. Gulf Coast numbers were mixed, and quotes for the Midcontinent/Midwest and West fell uniformly.

Northeast citygates were peaking above $10 again Friday as the region entered another period of intense cold. But other than Northeast upticks ranging from a little less than 20 cents to about $1.80, gains were few and far between in the rest of the market. Most points fell from about a nickel to a quarter.

Once again Northeast citygates took the lead and the West brought up the rear in Thursday’s across-the-board rebound from softness on Wednesday. Cash relied primarily on prospects of continuing frigid weather for its strength Thursday, but should be able to continue higher Friday due to storage data, spiking futures and an out-of-season tropical storm’s potential for getting into the Gulf of Mexico.

Losses of 30 cents or more at a couple of Northeast citygates topped overall softness in pricing Friday. Colder weather trends in some areas obviously didn’t perk up demand enough to overcome mild conditions in much of the East, the residual drag of Thursday’s 12-cent screen drop and the typical slump in industrial load over a weekend.

Pushed by a new spread of cold weather that limited highs above 70 to the Southeast and promised to engulf much of that region the following day, the market recorded strong upticks across the board Wednesday. Tuesday’s screen gain of nearly 16 cents also lent some delayed support to cash prices.

Triple-digit losses at Northeast citygates were the most spectacular in a day of general price plunges. Most non-Northeast points fell by anywhere from about 20 cents to 60 cents or so. Only Rockies/San Juan quotes saw flat to small declines.

Triple-digit gains at most of the Northeast citygates led an overall cash market advance Friday, as forecasts indicated little let-up this week in the severe winter conditions occupying much of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and Canada.

Northeast citygates soared Monday, topping out at $9.00 in New England. That seemed natural, considering that the Northeast and Midwest were experiencing their worst siege of cold so far this winter, and chilly temperatures dominated most of the weather picture elsewhere.

Plunges in New England citygates and mild firmness in the Rockies constituted the extremes in an overall market Tuesday that saw most points range from flat to down about 20 cents. A solid majority of the declines were small at less than a dime.