Scattered

Although there were several scattered flat to lower prices in Tuesday’s cash market, most points rallied in defiance of milder weather trends and prior-day screen weakness.

Flat to lower prices at a few scattered points remained the exceptions in an otherwise bullish market Thursday. This time cash numbers could claim support from a prior-day screen gain of 40.3 cents, along with continuing concern about Hurricane Katrina shut-ins and winter supplies, in offsetting weaker weather-driven demand.

Some scattered flat to moderately higher points swam against an overall strongly bearish price tide Monday. Gains ran as high as about 20 cents, but they were heavily outweighed by losses ranging from 2-3 cents to more than 60 cents. Most of the declines were in double digits, while much of the market’s modest amount of strength occurred at western points outside the Waha/Permian Basin market.

Scattered points that were flat to a little more than a nickel higher Tuesday were heavily outweighed by losses of up to 20 cents or so. But despite heating load being fairly scarce outside the north central U.S., the futures advance of nearly 20 cents was believed likely to boost most if not all prices Wednesday.

Although a few scattered points in the Gulf Coast and Northeast were able to make small gains Wednesday, the rest of the cash market bowed to modest heating load and the previous day’s futures weakness in recording quotes that ranged from flat to down a little more than 30 cents. Most of the larger losses were concentrated in the West, where seasonable temperatures dominated despite cold and snowy mountainous areas.

Although a few scattered points in the Gulf Coast and Northeast were able to make small gains Wednesday, the rest of the cash market bowed to modest heating load and the previous day’s futures weakness in recording quotes that ranged from flat to down a little more than 30 cents. Most of the larger losses were concentrated in the West, where seasonable temperatures dominated despite cold and snowy mountainous areas.

Midweek cooling trends apparently carried more price boosting punch than some traders had expected. Nearly all points were between flat and up nearly half a dollar Wednesday (however, only one point — El Paso San Juan-Bondad — was at the high end; gains elsewhere were limited to less than a quarter).

In a market with some inconsistencies, the overall price direction Thursday was overwhelmingly down, but scattered flat to higher points in the Gulf Coast and Northeast ran contrary to the general trend. Excluding those exceptions, losses ranged from about a nickel to nearly 40 cents.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. on Friday said it will sell about 30% of its worldwide oil and gas fields — all located onshore in the United States — to a private Dallas-based producer for $850 million in cash plus interests in two oil and natural gas fields in Wyoming. Although the sale involves a large amount of acreage, the assets accounted for only 4% of year-end 2003 reserves and 7% of Anadarko’s current production.