Dime

As expected after a 41.1-cent spike by June futures the day before, prices increased at nearly all points Wednesday. Only a drop of about a dime by Transwestern in West Texas averted an across the board run of firmness.

Losses of up to a dime at several scattered points, primarily in Appalachia and the Gulf Coast, kept price advances from running the board Monday. Predictions of above-normal temperatures this week in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and buzz about the possibility of a disturbance moving toward southern Florida from the Bahamas strengthening and getting into the Gulf of Mexico were the chief market boosters.

Most points were a dime or less up or down from flat Tuesday as limited cooling load kept gas demand relatively light. However, moderately higher points clearly outnumbered declining ones. The Rockies market was conspicuous again with much larger losses that had pipes being quoted at less than $2.

Nearly unchanged pricing dominated the cash market Wednesday. Most points ranged from flat to a little more than a dime higher or about 15 cents lower as colder weather forecasts in several regions were largely offset by the May futures contract’s decline of 24.5 cents a day earlier. Declining quotes handily outnumbered gains.

A gain of nearly a dime at Transco Station 30 and a flat Florida citygate were the only exceptions to prices continuing to fall Friday. The decline of industrial load that accompanies a weekend was added to the established list of bearish market influences — moderate to cool weather in almost every area, a prior-day screen drop, increasingly negative storage issues and a benign (so far) hurricane season for Gulf of Mexico production.

Spot prices rose anywhere from a dime to a dollar on Monday largely in response to a cold front that is expected to drop eastern temperatures to below-normal levels from Chicago to Florida starting Tuesday and continuing through Thanksgiving.

Prices were mixed in the East Friday, ranging from as much as about 15 cents lower to a little more than a dime higher. Many points were flat or close to it. Despite torrid weather continuing in much of the West, quotes fell from about a nickel to almost a quarter at nearly all point in that region. Only flat intra-Alberta and El Paso-Permian numbers and a rise of about a nickel at Waha diverged from the overall western softness.

The mixed prices that dominated last week’s market were back Wednesday. Most quotes were less than a dime up or down from unchanged and reflected a moderate bias to the downside. Market influences were largely the same as on Tuesday: a decline in cooling load since the week began and screen weakness the day before.

End-of-January prices reacted to moderating weather trends (either already under way or impending), Thursday’s screen loss of a dime, and lower weekend industrial load by dropping across the board Friday. The Northeast again was far out in front in leading the charge downward with multi-dollar plunges that had citygates returning to something more closely resembling “normal” levels.