Dive

Prior-day screen dive, slight retreats in southern heat have only minor impact.

Moderating weather, along with screen dive and weekend factor, soften the cash market.

Moderating weather, along with screen dive and weekend factor, soften the cash market.

Prices were softer at a large majority of points Monday due largely to the previous Friday’s dive of nearly 30 cents by October futures but also to a substantial drop of cooling load in the South and weather remaining moderate in most other areas.

Considering forecasts of weekend cooling trends in the Midwest and Rockies, it was hardly surprising that Thursday’s 24.3-cent dive by August futures was able to induce losses at all points in the cash market Friday. Naturally, the typical weekend drop of industrial load also played a part.

Pressured by the uncertainty of whether Congress would pass the $700 billion loan package for Wall Street, the U.S. energy sector took a dive on Friday as commodity prices spiraled lower. Some energy companies may have trouble securing loans in the short term, but overall, the sector should survive, energy analysts said.

Pressured by the uncertainty of whether Congress would pass the $700 billion loan package for Wall Street, the U.S. energy sector took a dive on Friday as commodity prices spiraled lower. Some energy companies may have trouble securing loans in the short term, but overall, the sector should survive, energy analysts said.

Thursday’s 86.1-cent dive by August futures and the bearish mood created by a significantly larger-than-expected storage injection report had their anticipated impact on the cash market Friday. Although overall cooling load remained fairly strong going into the weekend, prices plunged across the board, with a few Northeast declines approaching (and in one case exceeding) $2. The dropoff of industrial load during a weekend played a minor role in the massive softness.

Prices were down as expected at most points Friday following the previous day’s futures dive of more than half a dollar, but a few scattered points — primarily in the Midcontinent and West — were able to defy the screen weakness and post gains. Cooling load was slowly spreading northward from the South through the Southwest but was not substantive enough yet outside the southern U.S. to make a market difference.