Cooling

Pummeled by a prior-day futures plunge and losing both heating and cooling load, cash prices recorded losses at all points Wednesday.

Most points responded to forecasts of cold fronts, diminishing cooling load in several areas and Wednesday’s expiration-day weakness of September futures by ranging from flat to down about 30 cents Thursday. The Rockies, however, continued to recover from their maintenance-related plunges in the first two days of the week by rising as much as about 70 cents.

As expected, a combination of what some derided as “storm hype,” continuing heavy cooling load throughout the South and much of the West and prior-day futures support resulted in higher prices at virtually all points Wednesday. Only a quarter decline by Kern Delivery in the Arizona/Nevada market area averted across the board gains that included a $10-plus quote.

As expected, declining cooling load, a bearish storage report, the previous day’s drop of a little more than a quarter by July futures and the reduced industrial demand associated with a weekend ganged up on the cash market Friday to push prices lower by sizeable amounts at all points. Several OFOs or similar actions and excess supply constraints exacerbated the situation in the West, resulting in plunges of about a dollar or slightly more at some locations in the region.

A dearth of cooling load in the East trumped futures support from last Friday in causing most points to continue falling Monday. However, nearly all of the West, which is where the lion’s share of 90-degree-plus weather is currently in residence, was joined by a few eastern points in ranging from flat to about 35 cents higher.

Reduced cooling load due to cold fronts in both the Northeast and Midwest Thursday made Tuesday’s overall rally a short-lived one. Prices fell at most points Wednesday, generally by moderate amounts in the East but by larger amounts in the West.

Despite still having a fairly plentiful amount of cooling load outside the Northeast, Pacific Northwest and California coast, cash prices fell at most points Thursday. They succumbed to a 7.4-cent retreat by July futures a day earlier and the fact that only the South, desert Southwest and parts of inland California are due to see temperatures go above the 80s Friday.

Mixed price movement returned to the spot market Monday, with gains outweighing losses. Cooling load remained fairly strong across the South and Southwest but was spotty in more northerly market areas. The return of industrial demand from its usual weekend layoff supported cash prices, but the 16.2-cent drop by July futures on Friday provided negative guidance.

While some cash market regions Tuesday exhibited a healthy balance of both gains and declines, the Gulf Coast, Texas and the West Coast displayed mostly losses. Some noted that the recent bouts of mixed pricing going on are likely a result of producers and end users jockeying for position ahead of the summer heat and hurricane season, which is often a time of turbulent price swings.