Hemorrhaging

With bearish weather and storage outlooks little changed Wednesday from the day before, some traders were a bit surprised to see Tuesday’s hemorrhaging of spot prices come to a halt so soon for the most part. But they cited further buying for storage injections and the probability of power generation maintenance shifting load to gas peaking units as reasons for the rebounds.

On a day that had virtually all traders mesmerized by the hemorrhaging of merchant energy values on Wall Street (see related stories), cash gas prices were mostly lower by small amounts Tuesday. Mild gains of a nickel or less at a few western points (intra-Alberta, Sumas and Kern River) were the exceptions to flat to as much as 40 cents lower (Transco Zone 6-NYC) numbers elsewhere.

On a day that had virtually all traders mesmerized by the hemorrhaging of merchant energy values on Wall Street (see related stories), cash gas prices were mostly lower by small amounts Tuesday. Mild gains of a nickel or less at a few western points (intra-Alberta, Sumas and Kern River) were the exceptions to flat to as much as 40 cents lower (Transco Zone 6-NYC) numbers elsewhere.

Much of the price hemorrhaging that dominated the latter half oflast week’s cash market was well on its way to being stanchedMonday. Eastern points were only a tad softer, with few falling anymore than about a nickel, and most western points realized small tomoderate gains.

The hemorrhaging of prices that marked the first two days oftrading in the December aftermarket came to a virtual standstillWednesday even as unseasonably warm weather continued in much ofthe nation east of the Rockies. Except for an increase of more thana dime into Northwest at Sumas, all points were either flat or upor down only a few pennies. The reason for the surge at Sumas andwhy it was handily outstripping Rockies prices was that distributorBC Gas in southern British Columbia was drawing more heavily thanusual on discretionary supplies, one source said.