Purely

Looking to diversify from being purely a propane supply and distribution business, Kansas City, MO-based Inergy LP. said last week that it has entered into an agreement to purchase the Stagecoach natural gas storage facility located in Tioga County, NY, for $205 million.

Looking to diversify from being purely a propane supply and distribution business, Kansas City, MO-based Inergy LP. said Monday it has entered into an agreement to purchase the Stagecoach natural gas storage facility located in Tioga County, NY, for $205 million.

Prices were up across the board Thursday in what traders agreed was a purely Nymex-driven cash market. In the absence of any substantive fundamental demand, physical numbers derived virtually all of their support from Wednesday’s 41-cent screen spike, they said.

For several sources there were absolutely no ifs, ands or buts about it: Wednesday’s spikes of about 30 cents to a little more than 40 cents throughout eastern markets were caused by “storm hype,” pure and simple. Although Pacific Northwest and California points participated to a lesser degree in the overall bull market, most of the Rockies and San Juan Basin numbers were moderately softer.

Eastern prices rose about a dime or so Wednesday, in whatsources said was almost purely a delayed response to the screen’sadvance of nearly a quarter the day before. Despite a coastal stormthat left the Southeast shivering in some areas, and was movinginto the Northeast, weather was almost a total non-event for gasdemand, they said.

With little in the way of fresh fundamental news to go on,natural gas futures traders were forced to trade purely on instinctyesterday, producing another in a string of quiet trading sessionsat Nymex. After matching but failing to surpass Wednesday’s $5.37high, the April contract was left to tumble lower throughout theafternoon. The prompt contract finished on a weak note, off 6.5cents at $5.285.

In what traders called a purely screen-driven cash market,prices achieved double-digit increases at virtually every pointexcept for PG&E citygates, which rose by a little less than adime.

Much like the day before, cash prices rose by a dime or moreTuesday almost purely on weather fundamentals. Unlike the daybefore, western points failed to lag behind the overall marketlargely due to some supply shortness. The result was generallytight basis all around, ranging from the Rockies in the $2.30sthrough the Gulf Coast and Midcontinent in the $2.40s and Midwestcitygates in the $2.50s to Appalachia and California in the $2.60s.Only Northeast citygates in the $2.80s and $2.90s put muchappreciable difference between themselves and the rest of themarket.