Largely

Prices were softer at a large majority of points Monday due largely to the previous Friday’s dive of nearly 30 cents by October futures but also to a substantial drop of cooling load in the South and weather remaining moderate in most other areas.

Depending largely on the previous Friday’s 17.3-cent run-up by June futures and the return of industrial load from its typical weekend time-out, prices were up across the board Monday. One source thought a modestly bullish upturn in general economic developments may have been an additional boon for the spot market.

The cash market saw approximately evenly mixed movement Monday, with prices largely taking their cues from regional forecasts of either colder weather Tuesday or continued moderate conditions. It also responded to the conflicting influences of the previous Friday’s 14.3-cent loss by April futures and industrial load returning from its usual weekend decline.

With the significantly colder weather that had largely been absent from the forecast for Tuesday due to show up Wednesday in several regions, along with a little added boost from the previous day’s 9.4-cent futures advance, cash prices recorded gains at a large majority of locations Tuesday.

A solid majority of points achieved rebounds Monday from across the board weekend plunges. The overall rally was considered largely driven by the previous Friday’s 35.2-cent spike in December futures (along with a little help from industrial load returning from its typical weekend drop) because weather fundamentals were weak for the most part.

November natural gas futures managed a late-session rally Tuesday, but traders discounted the move and indicated that the market was largely rangebound with a bias toward lower prices. November futures rose 10.3 cents to $6.844, and December gained 9.7 cents to $7.088. November crude oil skidded $3.36 to $70.89/bbl.

Thursday’s cash market largely resembled the one a day earlier, with mild softness dominating in the East outside the Midcontinent and the West and Midcontinent continuing to see mostly strong increases. The primary differences were that virtually all western points advanced Thursday, and there were several flat to slightly higher locations in the Gulf Coast and at Midwest and Northeast citygates.

The cash market recorded higher prices at all points Thursday, largely due to October futures skyrocketing by 63.1 cents a day earlier. Hurricane-related supply losses appeared to be pinching a little harder as most Gulf Coast points achieved strong increases, and forecasts of freezing weather in the Northeast likely contributed some heating load to the market.

In what amounts to a largely symbolic gesture, the elected Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday night to support a resumption of drilling off its Southern California coast. The board agreed to write to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him to reverse the state’s decades-long opposition to any additional drilling.