Points

A large majority of points softened Monday as significant heating load was generally scarce and winter term deals along with sparse use of storage were able to meet many buyers’ needs.

Monday’s market was a near-reversal of weekend pricing, with warming trends pushing most eastern points lower and the return of sub-freezing lows in the Rockies along with general western cooling trends causing that regional market to rebound. Friday’s futures spike of 15.9 cents and the return of industrial load from its weekend decline also helped spur western gains, although they were unable to stem overall eastern softening.

Prices were up at nearly all points Wednesday, and many of the gains tended to be a bit larger than the ones that were generally limited to 2-3 cents or so a day earlier.

Reversing course from late last week when nearly all cash market points fell, gains were predominant in most regions on Monday, despite the fact that the tropical storm radar got a lot less crowded over the weekend. Much of the country except for the West saw upticks from a few pennies to about a dime.

Tuesday’s market was largely an extension of the one that started the week: quotes a bit softer at most locations but a few flat to slightly higher points keeping movement mixed overall. Even as restoration efforts get into high gear along the East Coast following Hurricane Irene’s damage, the overall weather outlook is too moderate to be supportive of gas prices.

Softness in the cash market extended to almost all points Friday as existing negative price influences were supplemented by the usual weekend demand decline in the industrial sector.

The aftermath of a year’s worth of major natural gas pipeline safety incidents and heightened regulatory/legislative concerns are raising points of caution and reflection from regulators and a credit ratings agency.

September natural gas futures rose Tuesday on a combination of technical buying and weather forecasts calling for greater heat at Midwest points. At the close September had risen 10.4 cents to $3.993 and October had gained 9.9 cents to $3.968. October crude oil gained $1.02 to $85.44/bbl.

Although the cash market showed a few signs of vitality in moving to near-flat numbers Tuesday following the previous day’s losses at nearly all points, there was little in the near-term outlook to suggest any chances of a substantive rally anytime soon.