Facade

Prices Can’t Sustain Largely-Unsupported Firmness

After maintaining a facade of firmness for most of the week in the face of generally weak fundamental influences, the cash market fell at all but one point Friday, finally succumbing to the reality of little weather-based load, an ongoing lack of any tropical storm threats to offshore production, abundant storage inventories and a prior-day futures decline.

October 18, 2010

All Points Drop as Storm Potential in Doubt

Cash prices had continued to put up a brave front through Monday with modest firmness overall, but the bullish facade could not be maintained Tuesday. Instead, losses that were mostly measured in double digits reigned across the board as more prior-day futures softness, a downgrade of prospects for the season’s first named tropical storm entering the Gulf of Mexico and forecasts of small reductions of cooling load in several regions ganged up on the physical market.

June 23, 2010

Prices Mildly Higher Again, But Weekend Weakness Seen

The cash market managed to keep up a mildly firmer facade Thursday, but prospects for a weekend crash are fairly strong, sources said. Yesterday’s quotes ranged from flat to either side of a nickel higher in most cases, with scattered points Transco Zone 6 (both pools), Transco Station 85 and MRT registering small declines.

January 18, 2002