Quotes

The cash market was a mishmash of higher, lower and flat quotes Monday as varying points reacted to a variety of weather outlooks and capacity constraints. There was little consistency of price movement within individual market areas other than the Northeast tending to see the greatest strength and Midwest citygates being solidly softer. The return of industrial load after a weekend hiatus provided a little support in all areas.

The mixed prices that dominated last week’s market were back Wednesday. Most quotes were less than a dime up or down from unchanged and reflected a moderate bias to the downside. Market influences were largely the same as on Tuesday: a decline in cooling load since the week began and screen weakness the day before.

Cash quotes fell Thursday at most points as expected, but the market displayed more resilience than some had anticipated by including a fair-sized number of flat (or a little higher in a couple of cases) locations in its overall mix.

While most of the cash market was higher by double-digit amounts Friday due to colder weather returning to the Midwest and South, Northeast citygates reversed price direction again and plunged by several dollars each, despite already being in the midst of an intense cold spell that was expected to continue through Monday.

Cash quotes continued to fall Tuesday, but the declines were notably smaller than on the day before. The slide was remarkably consistent across all geographic areas with nearly every point down between a nickel and about a dime; only a few in the Gulf Coast and Midcontinent/Midwest fell by as much as 13-19 cents.

Moderate softening continued to reign in the cash market Wednesday as slow warming trends fail to prompt enough power generation load to turn prices around. A few Northeast citygates were essentially flat with losses of only a penny, while most other points recorded generally small drops ranging from 2-3 cents to a little more than a dime.

Flat to slightly lower quotes were sprinkled here and there, but most of the cash market was in rebound mode Monday. The return of industrial load and Friday’s screen uptick of 4.1 cents provided much of the support, as weather fundamentals waxed and waned in different areas.

Quotes for a long weekend that hadn’t been anticipated before last Monday (see Daily GPI, June 8) dropped as expected Thursday. A few essentially flat points in the Gulf Coast got stirred into declines ranging from about a nickel to more than 30 cents.

Buoyed by run-ups throughout the energy futures complex the day before and the stubborn refusal of wintry weather to exit the market stage in some areas, cash prices recorded across-the-board gains in Friday’s trading for weekend flows.