Modest

Price movement was minuscule either up or down from unchanged Wednesday, but the market continued to show a tendency for modest softness as moderating weather signaled the approaching end of an especially severe winter.

With a little extra backing from the previous Friday’s modest futures rally, cash prices found enough remaining heating load — often accompanied by winter storms — to range from flat to about 20 cents higher at a large majority of points Monday. However, nearly all of the gains were in single digits.

With a little extra backing from the previous Friday’s modest futures rally, cash prices found enough remaining heating load — often accompanied by winter storms — to range from flat to about 20 cents higher at a large majority of points Monday. However, nearly all of the gains were in single digits.

April natural gas futures scored a modest gain Friday as traders noted covering of earlier short positions countered by light selling by producers. At the end of the day April futures had risen 4.6 cents to $4.813 and May added 4.8 cents to $4.879. April crude oil gained $1.49 to $79.66/bbl.

April natural gas futures scored a modest gain Friday as traders noted covering of earlier short positions countered by light selling by producers. At the end of the day April futures had risen 4.6 cents to $4.813 and May added 4.8 cents to $4.879. April crude oil gained $1.49 to $79.66/bbl.

With a modest (but expected to be brief) respite from harsh cold creeping into the forecasts for some areas, price advances slowed considerably at most points Tuesday and the formerly ultra-strong Northeast market was in wide retreat, with a few citygates seeing dollar-plus losses.

A temporary, albeit modest, upcoming respite from frigid conditions took the wind out of the Northeast’s recent price spike sails Tuesday, causing citygates to plunge by more than a dollar in many cases. However, small gains remained in play for most of the rest of the market as cold temperatures continued to dominate the overall weather scene.

January natural gas futures rose in modest trading Wednesday as traders still saw the market in control of the weather bulls and expressed reluctance to sell until weather forecasts turned more moderate. At the close January futures were up 10.6 cents to $5.821 and February added 11.2 cents to $5.884. February crude oil gained $2.27 to $76.67/bbl.

In a special energy report FitchRatings this week cut the price deck for 2010 U.S. natural gas by $1/Mcf in response to expectations for modest economic growth in the coming year.