Softness

Mired in a bog of bearish influences, cash prices continued to drift downward Wednesday at nearly all non-California points. Much like the day before, most of the downturn ranged between about a nickel and a dime, but with larger drops in the teens recorded at several Northeast citygates.

As sources had predicted, mild softness dominated Thursday’s cash market. Some points were flat, and a large majority registered declines of about a nickel or less. Only a few scattered points saw drops of about a dime or more, and several of those were associated with the Chicago market.

Thursday’s market was a near-repeat of the one the day before: moderate softening in the East but closer to flat in the West. The main differences were smaller eastern losses (virtually all declines were around a dime or less Thursday) and the fact that a few western points, primarily PG&E-related, were able to eke out modest gains.

Generally weak fundamentals notwithstanding, for the most part the cash market Thursday continued to resist the bearishness that many believe is its proper destiny. For a second straight day, quotes at eastern points were a mix of flat to slightly up or down, with small declines prevalent again. However, most of the West registered larger downturns due to California LDC OFOs, although many of the drops outside the Rockies were less than a dime.

With two hurricanes moving away from the Gulf of Mexico and influences from weather and storage still as negative as they were prior to the weekend, it was natural for most prices to be softening Monday. The exceptions to declining numbers were chiefly in the rebounding West and at Northeast citygates.

A couple of sources thought Monday’s trading might have established a flexible template for much of October: softening at nearly all points that was fairly moderate at about a dime down, or less in most cases, and accomplished amid quiet activity. Fundamentals were still weak; although virtually all areas basked under sunny skies, temperatures are still mild to chilly everywhere except in the desert Southwest and the Florida peninsula.

Swing prices ranged from flat to down about a nickel at most points Tuesday, as the market began to lose some of the cold weather that had kept numbers relatively firm in comparison to a plunging screen the day before. Some San Juan/Rockies/Pacific Northwest points achieved moderate gains, but CIG, Cheyenne Hub and Questar were retreating to sub-$1 levels again, in response to the region’s general supply glut combined with limited storage injection options.

Offshore drilling contractor Global Marine reported last week that the company’s worldwide Summary of Current Offshore Rig Economics, or SCORE, for August 2001 was down 3.2% from July because of a softening in Gulf of Mexico day rates that overshadowed the strength of the international offshore rig markets.

Offshore drilling contractor Global Marine reported Monday that the company’s worldwide Summary of Current Offshore Rig Economics, or SCORE, for August 2001 was down 3.2% from July because of a softening in Gulf of Mexico day rates that overshadowed the strength of the international offshore rig markets. In the Gulf of Mexico, the change was more dramatic, down 11.6% from a month earlier, and down 21.3% from a year ago.