Screen

A spate of selling followed Thursday’s runaway 36-cent screen rise, as traders took profits ahead of the weekend and July natural gas futures sank 13.6 cents to close at $5.805 Friday. Meanwhile the 12-month strip slipped 8.4 cents to close at $5.821. At 60,140, estimated volume was weak.

As NGI sources had predicted, the bearish revision of storage data Thursday and the screen’s negative response had their cash impact Friday. Weekend prices sank in double-digit amounts at all points, with most declines measured at about a quarter or more.

Building on Thursday’s screen spike, forecasts of severe weather over the weekend across much of the Midwest and Northeast, and anticipation of even greater heating load to arrive later this week, cash prices made another strong surge Friday. Double-digit gains were the order of the day for a majority of points; however, Rockies quotes retreated between about a dime and a quarter.

Once again a previous-afternoon screen uprising worked its magic on next-day cash prices. Friday quotes for weekend flow mostly ranged from approximately flat to nearly a quarter higher. A majority of the gains were relatively modest at around a dime or less.

Very hot weather along the East Coast and in the South and much of the West kept prices moving higher at nearly all points Tuesday. Transco Zone 6-NYC soared again, this time by 80 cents, and peaked at $6.

Despite a firmer screen and spreading intensification of colder weather, swing prices ranged from flat to down a little more than a nickel Tuesday. A majority of points recorded small losses of 1-3 cents.

Adding to Thursday’s long liquidation, natural gas futures continued lower Friday morning as traders factored in the price-negative combination of mild weather forecasts and weaker physical market prices. In abbreviated, pre-holiday trading, the February contract finished the week at $2.236, down 1.8 cents for the day but up 3.2 cents for the week.

Much of the cash market “followed the screen” essentially nowhere as flatness dominated at a majority of points Thursday. However, there were pockets of price movement here and there. The Northeast and PG&E-related California points weakened by as much as the teens, while San Juan/Rockies/Pacific Northwest quotes rose by a nickel or more. In addition, several scattered Gulf Coast and Midcontinent points defied the overall flat trend with upticks or downticks of up to a dime.

True to statements last week that acquisitions were on the radar screen (see Daily GPI, Sept. 7), Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd. said Monday it has acquired a Canadian company and another in Argentina. The Canadian assets, acquired from a private company for C$22.5 million, include property in the Chedderville and Garrington areas of West Central Alberta, adjacent to Canadian Hunter property. Neither acquisition is expected to materially impact Canadian Hunter’s 2001 production forecast.