If the Nymex electricity futures contracts were a party, by nowthe chips would be stale and the drinks flat, with only a handfulof guests having shown. Despite much fanfare over their respectivelaunchings, the New York Mercantile Exchange’s five electricitycontracts have largely languished for lack of activity.
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Same Market Song, Second Verse: Flat Again
Except for some western upticks, the cash market bore remarkableresemblance to a pancake Wednesday. Flatness remained the order ofthe day at nearly every trading point. And much as on Tuesday, thelittle bit of price movement that did occur in the East wasgenerally a little lower.
Market Stands Pat as Influences Remain Neutral
The overall market continued to consolidate mostly flatpositions Tuesday in another session of quiet trading and fairlytight price ranges. The little bit of movement tended to beslightly to the downside. Once again traders gleaned little in theway of guidance from a stagnant futures screen or from mild weatherfundamentals. A couple of sources seemed resigned to finishing outthe rest of the week in a sideways market.
General Flatness Belied by Late Price Drops
Enough gas got traded early Thursday at prices within a penny ortwo of flat that late weakness reported at many points failed todrag down averages from Wednesday. However, the late downturns weretaken as a harbinger of continued softening today, especially withthe market subject to the normal drop in weekend demand. Themarket felt kind of juiced up Wednesday but was losing its steamThursday, according to a Southwest trader. He saw “some realsoftness” at the end in Permian Basin.
Futures Plunge May Get Delayed Cash Reaction
“Following the screen” obviously didn’t apply Tuesday as thecash market’s mostly flat performance was a far cry from the8.1-cent drop in the Henry Hub futures contract for June. But, as aGulf Coast trader noted, a substantial portion of the screensoftness occurred after cash had finished trading for the day, andto him that means it’s a safe bet to expect a decline in cashprices today.
Western Increases Contrast With Eastern Flatness
While eastern markets meandered around in a generally flatperformance Monday, the West was achieving significant gains ofabout a nickel or more. Topping the list was San Juan Basin, wheresupply outages helped drive quotes up by about 15 cents. Prices inthe Rockies, Pacific Northwest and western Canada also were strongdue to cold weather. It snowed in Calgary Monday morning, onesource said, adding this is late in the season for snow but not arecord for Calgary.
Softer Market Sees Biggest Drops in Rockies, NNG Points
Much of Monday’s swing market closely resembled that of Friday:flat to down 3-4 cents. But some points were conspicuous withsubstantially larger decreases. Since CIG and Public Service ofColorado ended price-boosting OFOs over the weekend, prices onCIG-North System and Questar fell by a little over a nickel. Thesteepest plunge by far of almost 20 cents came at CIG-DJ(Denver-Julesburg) Basin, which had soared by a similar amountlast Wednesday after PSCo declared a Restricted Delivery Daysituation.
Industry Briefs
Shell Energy Services LLC is offering Georgia retail customers aweatherproof bill for their gas purchases. The bill sets flatmonthly charges for consumers’ natural gas bills, which Shellguarantees for a full 12 months. The program is different fromother “budget” billing plans, Shell said, because there is noyear-end adjustment or “true-up,” no matter how cold it gets in thewinter. For a limited time, consumers may sign up for the ShellEnergy WeatherProof(SM) Bill by calling 1-877-56-SHELL or byvisiting the Shell Energy Web site at www.shellenergy.com. Afterthey provide qualifying information, customers are told exactly howmuch their monthly natural gas bill will be for the next 12 months.The calculation is based on a computer program analysis ofmulti-decade weather patterns for their respective regions ofGeorgia. The analysis is combined with the 12-month historicalnatural gas usage at the consumer’s residence and the then-currentguaranteed rate per therm-now 39 cents for Shell Energy naturalgas.
Spring Weather, Flat Futures Prolong Cash Lull
The natural gas cash market went through a second day of overallflatness Wednesday as most of the nation absorbed spring-liketemperatures on St. Patrick’s Day and calmness pervaded the futuresmarket.
Have You Heard This Before? Cash Prices Flat
Some traders were groaning with dismay Wednesday at the prospectof the March market being one of nearly all sideways pricemovement, much like the February one preceding it. All it takes isa look at the multitude of zeroes and ones in the change column ofDaily GPI’s price table today to understand where they might havegotten such an idea.