Couple

Gains were still small, but a few points that had been flat a day earlier were beginning to record upticks of a couple of pennies or so Thursday. Cooling load was bolstered by continuing high temperatures throughout the South being joined by forecasts of huge peak temperature jumps in parts of the Midwest that were still relatively low as recently as Thursday.

Moderate to cool conditions were still dominating the overall forecasts, and as a couple of sources had pointed out, Thursday’s 24.8-cent screen plunge “practically guaranteed” lower prices Friday. They were correct as quotes fell across the board from about C5 cents to 30 cents or so; all drops were in double digits except for those at Empress and NOVA Inventory Transfer in Western Canada.

Cash averages across most of the country Friday declined on average from a couple of pennies to more than 20 cents as storage supplies remain robust, hot weather in the East and West waned and the tropics continued to offer no threat to Gulf of Mexico energy infrastructure. Points in the Rockies added from 1 to 3 cents.

Aided by moderate screen weakness the prior day, cash point averages on Thursday for Friday delivery came off a couple of pennies at a majority of locations with one point apiece in the Northeast, Texas, Rockies and the West shedding a dime while Dawn in the Midwest dropped 20 cents.

Questar Corp., which is preparing for the likely spin-off of its exploration and production (E&P) business later this year, on Wednesday reported a mixed earnings report for the first three months of 2010, in part because of lower natural gas prices.

Prices continued to fall at nearly all points Wednesday, although a couple of cash traders agreed that quotes tended to rise during later deals. Some regions had forecasts of colder weather as the upcoming week approached, but the overall lack of really low temperatures, especially for the last week of November, combined with the extra negative impact of a longer-than-normal holiday weekend on industrial load to ensure a softer market.

Mixed price movement returned to the cash market Friday as several points, mostly in the West and Northeast, saw drops ranging from a couple of pennies to a little more than a nickel. But most points continued to record small gains that again depended on a prior-day futures increase and continued to defy modest weather-based load in most areas.

PG&E Corp. shuffled a couple of senior executives effective Aug. 1, but its CEO reiterated that the company’s focus will remain unchanged, emphasizing renewables and infrastructure development. Along with this operating strategy, the utility holding company intends to remain an active participant in molding a new national energy policy, CEO Peter Darbee told a second quarter earnings conference call last Wednesday, announcing quarter-over-quarter increased profits.

PG&E Corp. shuffled a couple of senior executives effective last Saturday, but its CEO reiterated that the company’s focus will remain unchanged, emphasizing renewables and infrastructure development. Along with this operating strategy, the utility holding company intends to remain an active participant in molding a new national energy policy, CEO Peter Darbee told a second quarter earnings conference call Wednesday, announcing quarter-over-quarter increased profits.