Quotes

A small loss by intrastate OGT and flat quotes at several points averted a third straight day of across-the-board upticks Thursday. Cooling trends throughout most of the eastern United States easily outweighed mostly moderate conditions in much of the West in sustaining further gains at most points. A prior-day screen loss had little effect on general cash market firmness Thursday but may have more impact Friday.

July natural gas futures retreated Tuesday as traders saw the market adjusting to cash quotes and admitted that much of Monday’s 32.5-cent advance was stop-loss orders getting hit and not the result of any fundamental change in the market. July futures fell 5.3 cents to $4.129 and August dropped 7 cents to $4.312. July crude oil eased 15 cents to $70.47/bbl.

Tuesday’s overall rebound in the cash market didn’t last very long as quotes fell at all points Wednesday. Besides the drag of a 12.9-cent futures decline a day earlier, Wednesday’s market was forced to acknowledge that already-light weather-based demand was tending to recede even further.

Price movement was mixed Monday, but higher quotes clearly outnumbered losses. Heating load was relatively light outside much of the West, leading one source to conclude that cash gains were largely driven by the previous Friday’s 13.2-cent advance by March futures along with an assist from the post-weekend return of industrial demand and modest continuing screen strength Monday morning.

Flat or near-flat quotes were common in the East while much of the West was racking up some sizeable losses Thursday. Mixed price moves that had been mostly higher the day before became mostly lower as the cash market weighed the potential of Tropical Storm Fay causing offshore shut-ins and prior-day futures support against light cooling load in many areas.

Flat quotes at four points were the only exceptions to rising prices in the rest of the cash market Tuesday. The previous day’s 5.5-cent gain by August futures may have helped stimulate the rally to some extent, but it’s likely that forecasts of Wednesday peak temperatures from the 80s through the 100s in nearly the entire U.S. played a greater role.

The FERC Enforcement Staff, responding to claims by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) that FERC’s price calculations were flawed, defended its use of basis price quotes as part of its charge that ETP manipulated the physical gas market to create an artificial gas price that benefited its financial market position. A public version of the latest salvo from the regulatory agency was made available last Tuesday.

The FERC Enforcement Staff, responding to claims by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) that FERC’s price calculations were flawed, defended its use of basis price quotes as part of its charge that ETP manipulated the physical gas market to create an artificial gas price that benefited its financial market position. A public version of the latest salvo from the regulatory agency was made available Tuesday.

No, it wasn’t a joke for April Fool’s Day. The April aftermarket did get off to a very strong start Monday with large advances across the board. Cash quotes got support in several areas: Tuesday forecasts of low temperatures around freezing or less from the Rockies/Pacific Northwest/Western Canada through the Midwest to inland sections of the Northeast; rising heat levels in parts of the South; an 11.3-cent screen gain Friday; and the return of industrial load from its typical weekend decline.