Fell

To energy analyst Marshall Adkins of Raymond James, it is becoming clear that the United States is facing a “major natural gas supply problem that is likely to lead to higher gas prices over the summer and a potential gas price explosion next winter.” Adkins, who last month had predicted a bullish first quarter sequential decline of 2% and year-over-year decline of 3%, said last week that not only is U.S. gas production falling faster than analysts first thought, but “the supply deterioration has been shocking even to us.”

No longer following the screen (which fell about a nickel), cash prices managed to forge their own path higher Tuesday. A great majority of gains were in the teens, but several Northeast citygates rose by 20 cents or more, and Florida citygates soared more than half a dollar into the $4.20s. At the opposite end of the price spectrum, Rockies points flattened out as more supply came on line in response to recent price hikes.

Prices fell about 10-20 cents across the board Thursday in what traders generally considered as “reality” catching up with the gas market. But one producer is expecting at least a mild rally today after the screen turned a negative morning into an afternoon settlement that was a little more than a nickel higher.

Prices fell at all points Thursday, with the largest declines of about a quarter or more concentrated in the Rocky Mountains. It was hardly a surprise to encounter a weakening market, one trader said. A static screen had no influence on cash, he added, but the key factors were familiar to everyone: mild weather everywhere and essentially full storage approaching the winter.

The October aftermarket was dividing along geographical lines as it began Friday. Eastern points fell off sharply from both first-of-month indexes and end-of-September levels. However, except for mild Permian/Waha softness, the West was realizing gains in both of the aforementioned cases. Sources attributed the relative western firmness largely to the region’s having a near-monopoly on any hot weather remaining in the U.S.

Prices fell Thursday in the wake of a large storage injection report and a continuing dearth of air conditioning load. Volumes and trading activity remained minimal in the absence of futures guidance, and sources reported that the feelings of grief and numbness from the attacks against New York City’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon were slow in dissipating.

Peak power demand and summer gas use records fell during the week ending Aug. 12 in New York City as heat pushed temperatures well above 90 degrees, Consolidated Edison reported. Con Edison broke a weekly power demand record when 1,567,147 MWh of electricity were used by its 3.1 million customers from Monday, Aug. 6, through Sunday, Aug. 12. The week also included the highest-ever hourly peak demand, 12,207 MW, reached at 3 p.m. Thursday. The Con Edison system delivers energy to an estimated 8.9 million New York City and Westchester County residents.

Peak power demand and summer gas use records fell last week in New York City as heat pushed temperatures well above 90 degrees, Consolidated Edison reported. Con Edison broke a weekly power demand record when 1,567,147 MWh of electricity were used by its 3.1 million customers from last Monday, Aug. 6, through Sunday, Aug. 12. The week also included the highest-ever hourly peak demand, 12,207 MW, reached at 3 p.m. Thursday. The Con Edison system delivers energy to an estimated 8.9 million New York City and Westchester County residents.

It failed to shock anyone when June-ending prices fell fairly hard at nearly all points. Virtually all traders did Thursday deals for flow through Saturday, eliminating the hassles of split nomination periods over a June/July bridging weekend.