Movement

Unlike the East-West price movement division that markedFriday’s and Monday’s trading, the cash market returned Tuesday toa unified trend that resembled last Thursday’s: down considerably.

June prices were still on the rise for a California buyerTuesday, but a producer said he was seeing slightly lower Chicagocitygates.

Neither the American Gas Association (AGA) storage report of a25 Bcf withdrawal nor a supportive morning futures screen couldlift cash prices yesterday, as most points stayed within a coupleof pennies on either side of flat.

Except in the Northeast, cash price averages showed littlemovement yesterday as strong demand fought bearish weather to astandstill. Despite the lack of “real winter weather,” as onesource put it, the cash market’s recent resiliency had many tradersdisplaying quiet confidence about the market’s chances to maintainits bullish trend heading into the weekend.

There was decided regional divergence in Tuesday’s swing pricemovement. The Gulf Coast and Appalachia/Northeast, being the areasstill affected most by unseasonably warm weather, ranged from flatto down as much as a dime. But from the Midcontinent westward,where it actually seemed a bit winterish behind a cold frontheading east, prices were flat to a few cents higher, with theRockies, Southwest basins, California and intra-Alberta seeingincreases of about a nickel or more.

Much like futures, swing price movement came to a nearstandstill Tuesday. Small declines of mostly less than 4 centstended to outweigh the few small scattered gains, but the overalleffect was pancake-like. Few areas were any more than moderatelychilly, and even the Upper Plains, where most Arctic cold frontsstart spreading into the U.S., was seeing temperatures in the 70s.Forecasters reported an absolutely featureless Atlantic stormoutlook.

Cash quotes were mildly softer Monday, with price movementranging from none (flat) to down about a nickel. A July futuresdrop of just over 7 cents was the obvious explanation for cashweakness to many sources. A Houston-based aggregator asserted that”lack of weather” in both the Gulf Coast production area andNortheast market area exacerbated the screen’s negative influence.Forecasts continue to call for hotter temperatures later this week,he said, “but it’s not happening yet.” Even with Monday being theofficial start date for summer, recent high thermometer readings inthe South are only rarely getting above the 80s, he said.

The cash market was stronger by varying degrees Tuesday withprice movement ranging from flat to about a dime higher. Butsources didn’t expect the firmness to last, since many points wereheading back down along with the screen in late business. Theiroutlook was reinforced when the June futures contract continued todrop in afternoon Access activity.

As trading for next month picked up some momentum Wednesday, theMay market appeared to be developing with less volatility than inprevious bidweeks this year. One marketer reported Chicago citygatedeals Wednesday in the exact same $2.36-39 range as he had tradedTuesday. Many other points also were reported to be staying closeto their starting levels. However, a couple of sources reportedSouthern California border numbers falling slightly to $2.22-24from the mid-$2.20s., while a marketer said Sumas was recovering tothe mid $1.90s after having dipped slightly Tuesday.