Ranged

A great majority of the cash market ranged from flat to nearly 20 cents higher Monday as traders watched a skyrocketing screen and heard a great deal of talk about nuclear plant outages. But CIG, Cheyenne Hub and Questar led Rockies/San Juan Basin declines sparked largely by a major one-day constraint on Rockies gas moving eastward and also by light weather load.

As expected, most points continued to soften by varying amounts Friday. Losses ranged from as little as about a dime to just over a dollar, with many gradations in between represented. The few upticks tended to be associated with the Midwest market, such as Chicago citygates, Dawn, and Northern Natural-Ventura.

Prices ranged from flat to about a dime higher in nearly all cases Thursday. Most gains were generally small at around a nickel or less. Only San Juan Basin and Iroquois Zone 2 recorded marginal losses of 2-3 cents.

Prices ranged from flat to down a little more than a dime in nearly all cases Wednesday; however, San Juan Basin numbers plunged by 40 cents. Most of the declines were fairly small at around a nickel or less.

Prices ranged from flat to mostly moderately higher Friday in all regions except the Rockies. They got some follow-through momentum from Thursday’s screen run-up following a below-expectations storage report, and traders also were looking ahead to the return of Northeast temperatures in the 90s as this week begins.

Nearly all points ranged from flat to down about a nickel or less Monday, but several sources regarded that as a relatively firm performance in light of the market’s generally bearish outlook. The Northeast was a bastion of strength with double-digit citygate increases, led by a gain of more than 45 cents at the Algonquin Citygate.

Despite a firmer screen and spreading intensification of colder weather, swing prices ranged from flat to down a little more than a nickel Tuesday. A majority of points recorded small losses of 1-3 cents.

Swing prices ranged from flat to down about a nickel at most points Tuesday, as the market began to lose some of the cold weather that had kept numbers relatively firm in comparison to a plunging screen the day before. Some San Juan/Rockies/Pacific Northwest points achieved moderate gains, but CIG, Cheyenne Hub and Questar were retreating to sub-$1 levels again, in response to the region’s general supply glut combined with limited storage injection options.

Prices ranged from essentially flat to down about 15 cents at Malin Monday. Apart from Malin, all other declines were generally a dime or less. Weather fundamentals remained weak in the northern market areas and Tropical Storm Chantal was getting little credence as a serious threat to Gulf of Mexico production for the time being. Those factors and screen weakness accounted for much of the post-weekend cash softening, sources said.