Somewhat surprisingly, most points outside of California and the Rockies/Southwest basins were able Wednesday to pull out of the price tailspin that had dominated this week’s market. Flat to mildly higher or lower numbers were prevalent in most areas. However, California continued to plunge in triple-digit amounts except for border-SoCalGas quotes, which fell only about 30 cents. The Rockies and Southwest basins generally were down from about a nickel to 20 cents.
Outside
Articles from Outside
Light Futures Trading Favors Bears
Despite cold temperatures both outside and in the latest mediumrange weather outlooks, natural gas prices shuffled lower yesterdayin an extremely quiet trading session. After failing to retestWednesday’s highs yesterday morning, the April contract succumbedto light selling throughout the afternoon. Estimated volume of just32,117 contracts confirmed the thin trading activity.
Winter Weather Keeps Rally Going Except in California
A mild rally continued Tuesday for end-of-February swing pricesin most markets outside California, where all three major pricingpoints were united for a change in substantial declines.Non-California points generally ranged from flat to more than adime higher, but most of the upticks were less than a dime.
Weekend Price Drops Mostly Small Except in California
The swing market kept falling Friday, but outside of continuedtriple-digit plunges in California, the softness was generallymild. The Southwest basins and Rockies joined a few scatteredMidcontinent and Gulf Coast points in declines of about 15 cents ormore, but otherwise the downticks were about a dime or less.
Futures Gap Higher as Bulls Target All-Time Highs
Boosted by soaring cash prices and cooler temps both outsidetraders’ windows and in the latest weather forecasts, natural gasfutures were higher Monday after gains registered in the Sundaynight Access trading session were validated by a gap higher open.The December contract was the largest beneficiary of the Sundayevening-Monday morning buying frenzy, finishing up 24.2 cents at$5.698. Meanwhile the back months lagged considerably, evidenced bythe 12-month strip, which only advanced 8.2 cents to $4.826.
Mewbourne: Independents Leading Natural Gas
The North American natural gas market’s success is in the handsof the independents, and some of the leaders — private companiesnot driven by the need for outside investment — will be names notwidely recognized.
Weekend Prices Advance Except in OFO-Shy West
Cash traders in markets outside the West, taking encouragementfrom patches of cold weather (both existing and predicted) and ascreen that briefly tested the waters above $3 Friday morning,pushed weekend prices higher by about a nickel in the Gulf Coastand Midcontinent/Midwest to more than a dime in the Northeast.
AGA Sees Storage Bolstering Winter Supply
Responding to outside assessments that U.S. natural gasproduction could be 5% below the average of recent heating seasons,the American Gas Association (AGA) said it expected “ample suppliesof natural gas to be available this winter at competitive prices.
Widespread Chill Keeps Cash Gas Prices on Rise
There were very few places outside the extreme southwesterncorner of the U.S. still seeing high temperatures any greater than70 degrees Tuesday, and the growing chill was manifested in furthergas price increases. Though milder than Monday’s gains and almostnon-existent in California and parts of the Rockies, the new pricehikes were generally on either side of a dime in the Gulf Coast,Midcontinent/Midwest and Northeast. Much like the day before,Northeast citygates tended to rise the most between 10 and 14cents.
September Aftermarket Begins on the Downside
Between a plunging screen and mild-to-cool weather almosteverywhere outside the southern U.S., it hardly came as a shock totraders that Tuesday’s swing deals done for today only would failto measure up to September index levels. However, some consideredthe ability of crude oil futures to stay above $22/bbl and eventack on an extra dime a mitigating factor in keeping the initialaftermarket softness fairly mild.