Resemblance

Tuesday’s cash market bore a resemblance to the one preceding it in that all points achieved further gains, and most of them were strong. However, the Western Canada locations of Empress and AECO C failed to surpass the dime level, preventing a second day of solid double-digit advances.

The outlook for the natural gas and power industry bears a strong resemblance to the markets in the early 1990s, according to a report issued by Credit Suisse First Boston Equity Research last week. The key difference is the current valuation for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is 10% higher than it was in 1992, while the valuation for the natural gas and power sector is 30% lower, it said.

Much of the U.S. bore some resemblance to a lit oven Thursday,and the Nymex screen was soaring like a space shuttle takeoff fromCape Canaveral. The two events combined to give strong support toeastern cash prices, which rose between a nickel and a dime atalmost every point. Gas demand was especially intense at theNortheast and Chicago citygates; both were up about a dime. TranscoZone 6-NYC deliveries topped all points with a high of $2.70.

Except for some western upticks, the cash market bore remarkableresemblance to a pancake Wednesday. Flatness remained the order ofthe day at nearly every trading point. And much as on Tuesday, thelittle bit of price movement that did occur in the East wasgenerally a little lower.