Predictions

Generally moderate weather predictions, such as the Chicago area reaching the low to mid 50s Tuesday, didn’t suggest any likelihood of spot prices increasing Monday. But cash traders either thought otherwise or were looking ahead to near the end of the week, when cold fronts would be moving into such areas as the Midwest.

Predictions of moderate temperatures in most areas — except for freezing lows in much of Canada, just on the other side of the border and occasionally in sections of the Rockies — along with the additional loss of industrial load associated with a holiday weekend and fulfilled anticipation of continued storage injections prompted sizeable cash market declines across the board Sunday.

Most of the market continued to rise Wednesday, but nearly all of the increases were smaller than Tuesday. Predictions of warmer temperatures approaching, particularly in the Midwest and South and to a lesser extent in the Rockies, create a moderately bearish price outlook through the end of the week.

Despite predictions of peak temperatures near 100 in New York City generating a $4-plus increase in Transco Zone 6-New York quotes, prices fell in most of the rest of the market Thursday as the current eastern heat wave lost much of its bullish impact.

June natural gas futures rose Wednesday as analysts observed that the market was holding at current prices reasonably well in spite of predictions of abundant supply. At the closing bell June had gained 1.6 cents to $4.198 and July was up 2 cents to $4.266. June crude oil soared $3.19 to $100.10/bbl.

Natural gas inventories could become a lot tighter and prices could soar much higher in the coming winters if predictions from AccuWeather.com Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi prove true.

Natural gas inventories could become a lot tighter and prices could soar much higher in the coming winters if predictions from AccuWeather.com Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi prove true.

Colder forecasts during the Christmas weekend were in effect for many areas, and although near-term predictions varied, most points were flat to about a dime higher. All of the major declines from about a dime to the $2.65 area occurred in the Northeast, where a major weekend storm had begun departing.

Prices continued to fall at virtually all points Thursday as weak prior-day futures continued to weigh on the market and predictions of hot weather lasting into at least mid-June were falling short of expectations.