Modestly

Several flat to modestly higher numbers were tucked into the cash market here and there Monday, but softening still reigned at a substantial majority of points. Mild to above normal temperatures were due to continue Tuesday in most of the South, Midwest and lower West, but the Northeast and Pacific Northwest could expect to feel early-spring chills.

Flat to modestly softer numbers were the hallmark of Wednesday’s cash market as the price-supporting characteristics of this week’s snowstorms in the Northeast and Midwest continued to wane. However, gains of up 18 cents were noted at some Northeast citygates.

With a few instances of flat to modestly higher numbers sprinkled here and there, most of the cash market recorded small losses Friday in a muted reversal of the advances that had thoroughly dominated trading earlier last week. A large majority of the drops were in single digits. Northeast citygates, having much greater heights from which to fall, tended to see all of the larger declines ranging from a little more than a dime to as much as $1.30 or so.

Natural gas futures climbed modestly higher Wednesday, fueled by cautious optimism over expectations of a large storage draw set to be announced Thursday morning combined with an increasingly bullish technical outlook. The March contract closed at $6.376, up 6 cents for the session, but down more than a dime from its $6.48 high on the day.

It may have seemed unlikely that the Northeast would repeat the price fireworks of last Friday and Tuesday when Transco Zone 6-New York City topped out at $30 in leading multi-dollar gains at area citygates. Well, not only were Northeast numbers skyrocketing again Thursday, but they surpassed the earlier super-bullishness.

Natural gas futures were down modestly in midday trading as traders took a breather following a hectic three days of volatile price action in which the November contract spiked more than 90 cents. Not even the weekly release of fresh natural gas storage inventory data, featuring a 64 Bcf injection, could tilt the scales in either bulls’ or bears’ direction, leaving the market to trade mostly sideways Thursday morning.

The market turned mostly softer Tuesday, but still had a few flat to modestly higher points in the Gulf Coast and Midcontinent/Midwest in the overall mix. It’s likely that a semi-meltdown in the energy futures complex Tuesday, along with generally bearish weather and expectations of another fairly large build in storage to be announced Thursday, will unite all cash points in declines Wednesday.

The cash market turned in a mixed performance Wednesday that was slightly weighted toward the downside. A few pockets of freezing temperatures remain, and induced gains of up to about a dime. Most points were flat to off a few cents, however, pressured by weak weather fundamentals in most regions.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has modestly hiked the annual dollar limit for projects that natural gas pipelines with blanket construction certificates can proceed with on their own without having to win agency clearance first.