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Prices continued to drop Friday at all points, but the declines were quite a bit smaller than the ones that preceded them on Thursday. The softness was anticipated as cooling load remained relatively light outside the southern third of the U.S. and the screen had fallen in six straight trading sessions before eking out a small gain Friday.

Forecasts of triple-digit temperatures helped ignite triple-digit price spikes Monday at quite a few points in the Gulf Coast and Northeast. All cash trading points were up by at least 30 cents. Transco Zone 6-New York City led the climb with a humongous gain of nearly $1.70.

Although early autumn gas futures prices are still above $7, quite a few analysts are saying they could drop as much as $3, maybe more, before the injection season ends. Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA), predicted last week that Henry Hub prices could hit $4/MMBtu or even lower as many storage fields approach their maximum capacity.

With most of its strength concentrated in the Gulf Coast and Northeast, the cash market saw gains at a sizeable majority of points Wednesday but still had quite a few flat to lower numbers in the mix. Weather forecasts more apropos of mid-winter than before in the Northeast helped prompt the gains, aided by a modicum of support from Tuesday’s 10.8-cent screen gain.

After causing quite a stir in 2005 with his unsuccessful attempt to open up the Virginia coastline to natural gas drilling, state Sen. Frank Wagner (R-VA) introduced energy legislation in the opening days of the General Assembly last week that is more comprehensive in scope than his energy measure that was debated by state lawmakers last year.

After causing quite a stir last year with his unsuccessful attempt to open up the Virginia coastline to natural gas drilling, state Sen. Frank Wagner (R-VA) is planning to introduce energy legislation Tuesday that is more comprehensive in scope than his energy measure that was debated in the General Assembly last year.

All points conformed Friday with sources’ expectations of softness for the initial January aftermarket, but for quite a few of them — especially in the East — it was hardly a case of getting “hammered,” as one producer had predicted. Though most points experienced double-digit retreats, a few indices held their own Friday with losses of only a nickel to 7 cents.

Giving futures market bulls quite a fright on Halloween, December natural gas took out support in the $12.68-70 area in Sunday’s overnight Access trading session and kept the downward pressure in place during Monday’s regular session. December ended up settling at $12.205, down 85 cents from Friday’s close. Prompt-month futures haven’t settled this low since Sept. 16, when October natural gas closed at $11.144.

A majority of points were moderately softer Wednesday, although quite a few others were flat to as much as about a nickel higher. An impending decline in power generation load as cooler weather returns to the Midwest and Northeast starting Thursday were cited as the primary cause of declines ranging from 2-3 cents to nearly 20 cents. Most of the dips were in single digits.