Respite

Producers in northeastern Pennsylvania will get a respite from the region’s pipeline capacity pinch — but not for long — according to Bentek Energy LLC.

As the general weekend respite from a widespread spell of cold weather proved to be fleeting, prices rebounded strongly Monday from their only overall softness of the previous week. Besides the prospects of heating load shooting higher again, the previous Friday’s 15.7-cent gain by December futures and the return of industrial demand from its typical weekend lull contributed to cash market increases.

With a modest (but expected to be brief) respite from harsh cold creeping into the forecasts for some areas, price advances slowed considerably at most points Tuesday and the formerly ultra-strong Northeast market was in wide retreat, with a few citygates seeing dollar-plus losses.

A temporary, albeit modest, upcoming respite from frigid conditions took the wind out of the Northeast’s recent price spike sails Tuesday, causing citygates to plunge by more than a dollar in many cases. However, small gains remained in play for most of the rest of the market as cold temperatures continued to dominate the overall weather scene.

After taking a one-day respite from lower prices on Thursday, August natural gas futures values moved downward again with August crude on Friday as near-term fundamentals remained weak. August natural gas closed at $3.373, down 3.5 cents from Thursday’s close and 24 cents lower than the previous week’s finish.

Last year the United States experienced a temporary respite from the devastating hurricanes that swept through Florida and the Gulf Coast in 2005, but the trend toward violent storms is still in place. AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center Chief Forecaster Joe Bastardi warns that the U.S. Gulf Coast, which avoided the wrath of major storms and hurricanes in 2006, is at much higher risk of destructive tropical weather this year. And in the Atlantic, the Northeast also could suffer some hits.

Last year the United States experienced a temporary respite from the devastating hurricanes that swept through Florida and the Gulf Coast in 2005, but the trend toward violent storms is still in place. AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center Chief Forecaster Joe Bastardi warns that the U.S. Gulf Coast, which avoided the wrath of major storms and hurricanes in 2006, is at much higher risk of destructive tropical weather this year. And in the Atlantic, the Northeast also could suffer some hits.

Tired of watching natural gas futures spiral lower over the last couple of weeks without much respite, traders pushed the November contract higher Friday in what market watchers were calling a short-covering rally. After putting in a high of $5.735, the prompt month closed out the week at $5.620, up 22.8 cents on the day but 26.1 cents lower for the week.

This year will see a “noticeable easing” in spot natural gas prices, leading to an annual average decline in the Henry Hub price of about 10%, but the respite is expected to be short-lived, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for March.