Roaring

Sparked by roaring crude prices, shaky fundamentals and summer heat and storm uncertainty, August natural gas futures jumped 15.5 cents on Monday to close at $13.353/MMBtu, a new high close for the up move.

For a regional market that couldn’t seem to buy a price break all week, the Rockies came roaring back Friday with triple-digit spikes. That was in sharp contrast to falling prices at virtually all other points as above-normal temperatures were expected to be in place by the end of the weekend in nearly all of the U.S. except its northwest corner. The weekend retreat of industrial load was a minor bearish factor.

Cash prices came roaring back in the Rockies on Tuesday for Wednesday’s gas day as high winds, snow and colder temperatures swept through the region and Wyoming Interstate Co. projected that it would be able to restore normal pipeline operations following Saturday’s pipeline rupture and explosion 10 miles south-southwest of Cheyenne, WY. Cash prices in the region jumped more than $4/MMBtu in some cases to the $5.40s.

What had seemed like an extremely weak cash market going into the weekend came roaring back to life Monday with huge price gains that often matched or exceeded the losses of the previous Friday. Dollar-plus increases were common in response to what one analyst said were forecasts for the rest of October and November that had turned much colder over the weekend.

Spot prices Tuesday started soft, but came roaring back for a strong finish with many points posting double digit gains, in reaction to some relatively strong heating load. The Texas, Midcontinent and Midwest markets showed the greatest strength, while mild temperatures in California and the Southwest forced prices down slightly in the West. Prices in the Northeast rose modestly.