Leaned

Following a strong launch of the May aftermarket on Monday, things had settled down a lot Tuesday. Price movement was mixed but leaned heavily toward the downside. Growing cooling load across the southern half of the U.S. was starting to flag slightly in some sections, proving to be insufficient at this point to sustain price firmness, while mild weather meant very little weather-based load at all in northern market areas.

The cash market turned in a mixed performance Monday that was almost evenly divided among rising and falling points but leaned slightly to the upside. A bit of cooling load in the South and heating load in the West provided support, while forecasts of normal to above normal temperatures in northern market areas (along with Friday’s nickel drop by April futures) dragged some points lower.

Many points were close to flat Monday in a mixed market that leaned mostly to the downside. The return of industrial load from a weekend slump and what is suspected to be thriving demand for early storage refills were pitted against mild weather fundamentals and the previous Friday’s 22.9-cent screen dive as primary cash trading influences.

Many points were flat or close to it Thursday in a mixed cash market that leaned mostly to the upside. A majority of the slightly softer quotes were in the West, Midcontinent and Northeast.

Post-weekend cash prices leaned chiefly toward the upside in a mixed performance Monday. A few scattered points in the East joined most western markets in mild softening, while the rest of the market ranged from flat to as much as about 30 cents higher in the Northeast. A majority of gains were less than a dime.

Prices were mixed on either side of flat Monday, but the market as a whole leaned decidedly to the downside. Not much appreciable heating load remained outside the Upper Plains and Rockies.

Despite the arrival of another severe winter storm — this onein the Midcontinent — the majority of spot points leaned to thedownside Thursday.

A slow and undistinctive trading session Thursday yielded amixed bag of prices that leaned mostly to the slightly softer side.The small declines tended to occur mainly at Eastern points, whilethe West generally was flat to a little higher. Sources continuedto chant the litany of “no weather, no demand.”