They didn’t make up all the ground lost in Friday’s plunge, but prices did see solid across-the-board rebounds Monday. Sources cited the continuing creep eastward in the northern tier of states of cold weather that had been confined to the West last week as a significant factor, but also mentioned delayed influence from a screen surge Friday and the return of industrial load following a weekend.
Spreading
Articles from Spreading
Spreading Cold in North Keeps Prices Ascending
Except for an essentially flat Northern California market, cash prices continued to move higher Wednesday. Colder northern weather, including snow in some cases, either setting in already or due later this week was cited as the primary factor sustaining market firmness.
Spreading Heat Helps Generate Mild Price Advances
Other than isolated softness at a couple of Rockies points and the Southern California border, the cash market ranged from flat to about a dime higher Wednesday. Although a majority of gains were quite small at a nickel or less, price movement was starting to be based more on hot-weather fundamentals and less on the screen’s previous-day performance.
Spreading Frigid Weather Loses Price-Boosting Impact
The cash market failed to derive much new strength Wednesday from a polar air mass continuing to dominate the weather picture in the northern half of the U.S. from the Rockies eastward and starting to spread into parts of the Southeast, not to mention a soaring screen. Instead, most points ranged from a nickel or so higher to down about 20 cents, with considerably greater declines recorded at Northeast citygates.
Canadian Gas Drilling Picks Up on Confidence in Higher Prices
With optimism spreading that natural gas prices will stay firm, drilling is on the rise in western Canada, as producers set out to make supplies catch up to expanded export pipeline capacity. A barometer of field activity — periodic forecasts by a group in close touch, the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) — has risen 5% as producers telegraph intentions for the forthcoming fall and winter drilling season with orders and contracts.
Slightly Lower Prices Ignore Bullish Influences
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.
East Mostly Flat, While West Falls Up to 15 Cents
A moderate spreading of chillier weather helped keep most eastern points nearly flat, but ranging from about a nickel higher to a dime lower Tuesday. There was a mild bias to the slightly softer side. Meanwhile, despite a new storm moving into the generally sparsely populated upper regions of the West, softening by a nickel or more dominated there.
Eastern Markets Level Off While West Keeps Falling
An Arctic cold front spreading through the nation’s midsectionwas enough to arrest a late December slide in cash prices Tuesday,at least in Eastern markets, which tended to be flat to slightlyhigher. But except for essential flatness at Waha and the PermianBasin, most of the West fell by about a dime or more, topped by adrop of almost 30 cents at Stanfield.
Futures Not Able to Mimic Cash Gains
The futures market received an early boost from hot weatherspreading up the East coast and a strong over-the-counter marketMonday morning, but the buying ebbed sending Nymex spiraling lowerthroughout the day. “We shot up to $2.20 in a hurry, but the marketcould offer no follow-through above that level. At that point itwas a where-do-we-go-from-here mentality and the answer to thatquestion was down,” an analyst said. That left the August contractoff 7 cents to $2.095.
AGA Sees Choice Spreading Fast, Others are not so Sure
The American Gas Association said yesterday 30% of the U.S.households with gas service, or 17 million homes, have or soon willhave the opportunity to purchase their natural gas from a supplierother than their local gas utility.