Falling

Most of the cash market was falling again Wednesday as weather and storage fundamentals remained bearish. However, several western points (primarily in the Rockies) were flat to a little more than a quarter higher. The majority of losses ranged from about a nickel to 30 cents or so.

Flat quotes for Questar made it the only point failing to bow to weak fundamentals and five straight prior trading days of falling futures Thursday. The rest of the cash market saw price drops ranging from a little less than a nickel to about 55 cents.

Another piece of the giant puzzle known as the Rockies Express Pipeline LLC Project is falling into place. Questar Corp.’s Overthrust Pipeline has filed an application at FERC seeking authorization to build a nearly 80-mile extension that would be the westernmost end of the Rockies Express project, a 1,663-mile, 42-inch diameter pipeline that would transport Rocky Mountain gas supplies to markets in the Midwest and East.

Prices kept falling in most cases Wednesday, but the amount of slide was less than Tuesday’s at many points and there were some instances of flat to slightly higher numbers. That raised the possibility of a cash rally Thursday, with high heat levels expected to continue in a lot of areas and following a 30.7-cent screen rebound Wednesday.

Most points recorded single-digit declines Wednesday, with a few others falling by up to nearly 20 cents. A clean sweep of softening was averted by a few scattered points that ranged from flat to a little more than a dime higher.

As other Republican energy proposals were falling by the wayside, Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) on Thursday introduced legislation that offers incentives to expand energy supply and infrastructure in an attempt to lower fuel prices. A key provision in the bill would remove a barrier to the construction of the proposed Weaver’s Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Fall River, MA.

A screen dive of more than 40 cents the day before and weak weather-related demand resulted in falling prices at nearly every point Tuesday. The Florida citygate was the only point to record a minor gain as Florida Gas Transmission extended an Overage Alert Day for its market area and tightened the imbalance tolerance (see Transportation Notes).

Buying for storage injections finally proved unable to offset the retreat of weather-related load Wednesday, and the result was falling cash prices across the board.

Was it a case of “you can’t keep a good market down?” Following two days of mostly falling prices, which reflected the general bearishness of market influences, cash quotes for the weekend rallied at a majority of points Friday.