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Physical and futures prices both registered double-digit losses on the final day of bidweek Tuesday as cash prices caught up with the late-session futures slide on Monday, and futures just kept trekking lower Tuesday as the market couldn’t shake the ongoing dynamics of ever-increasing storage surpluses and forecasts of mild weather expected to prolong the pounding market bulls have been taking.

A new poll reveals that while most Pennsylvania voters, 62-30%, believe the economic benefits of drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale outweigh any environmental concerns, a majority, 64-27%, also want to see the industry taxed.

Public support for a state-imposed tax on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region remains solid, according to the results of a survey of 800 registered voters conducted between Dec. 27 and Jan. 2.

Several points in the Northeast, Midwest, Gulf Coast, Pacific Northwest and Western Canada were flat or registered gains Friday, but for the most part softness continued to reign supreme. The previous day’s screen loss of 8.6 cents played a role, but it was mostly the fact that Friday deals were done for Monday only, when warming trends were expected to resume in many areas, that kept Friday’s winter storms from affecting the cash market positively.

Several points in the Northeast, Midwest, Gulf Coast, Pacific Northwest and Western Canada were flat or registered gains Friday, but for the most part softness continued to reign supreme. The previous day’s screen loss of 8.6 cents played a role, but it was mostly the fact that Friday deals were done for Monday only, when warming trends were expected to resume in many areas, that kept Friday’s winter storms from affecting the cash market positively.

Even as already modest weather-based demand continued to diminish or see only slight increases, prices again registered fairly strong gains at all points Wednesday in an extension of this week’s post-holiday rally. It wasn’t much, but the previous day’s futures increase of 7.9 cents gave some backing to the cash market, and the fact that prices were still fairly low compared to previous months may have attracted buyers who still had options on where to place the supplies.

December natural gas futures registered a modest decline as traders acknowledged that the market was awaiting weather data that might show a continuation of the cold weather currently pummeling the East.

While natural gas marketers overall registered an approximate 12% gain in volumes sold in NGI’s 1Q2008 marketer survey over year-ago totals, Constellation Energy Group, now fourth in the marketer listings, and Louis Dreyfus Energy Services LP, now in sixth place, reported remarkable sales volume gains of 54% and 68%, respectively. Shell Energy North America, Nexen Inc. and Tenaska Marketing Ventures all reported sales volume increases of more than 20%, while Chesapeake Energy Corp. and XTO Energy Inc. both had sales that were up by 32% over 1Q2007.

While natural gas marketers overall registered an approximate 12% gain in volumes sold in NGI’s 1Q2008 marketer survey over year-ago totals, Constellation Energy Group, now fourth in the marketer listings, and Louis Dreyfus Energy Services LP, now in sixth place, reported remarkable sales volume gains of 54% and 68%, respectively. Shell Energy North America, Nexen Inc. and Tenaska Marketing Ventures all reported sales volume increases of more than 20%, while Chesapeake Energy Corp. and XTO Energy Inc. both had sales that were up by 32% over 1Q2007.