Streak

Except for a few essentially flat points in Appalachia and the Gulf Coast, the two-day bullish streak in the general cash market ended Thursday. Several Northeast citygates measured declines in triple-digit amounts, while elsewhere losses tended to range from about a nickel to nearly 90 cents. Traders cited approaching breaks, however small, from the icy conditions that have plagued markets across the northern U.S. and Canada — and even down into the Southeast — over the past few days as chiefly responsible for the price reversals.

Ending the streak of losing sessions at two, natural gas futures held on to an early advance Wednesday as light short-covering buoyed the market on expiration day. The February contract completed its tenure as Nymex prompt month at $5.775, up 5.9 cents for the session, but down 46.8 cents since its debut as the spot contract a month ago.

Cash prices lost the support they had been deriving from strong energy futures Tuesday, and a near-total lack of cooling load in northern market areas appeared to be finally bringing a three-day upward run to a halt. Flat numbers dominated trading, with few points outside the San Juan/Rockies market varying by more than a nickel up or down from unchanged.

Cash prices not only sustained their bullish streak that started last Thursday, but also built momentum Monday with gains in many cases even larger than those preceding the weekend. And the ride higher isn’t finished yet, according to some sources. “I expect a $6.75 on the screen tomorrow [Tuesday] and cash will also keep rising,” a marketer predicted.

The end is in sight for the long winning streak chalked up by Canadian natural-gas exporters, as deliveries remain consistently off their formerly torrid pace in setting 14 consecutive annual sales records in the United States. Canadian gas deliveries to the U.S. fell by 5.3% to 2.745 Tcf in the first three-quarters of the current gas contract year that ends Oct. 31 from 2.9 Tcf in the same period of 2000-01, the National Energy Board reports.

The end is in sight for the long winning streak chalked up by Canadian natural-gas exporters, as deliveries remain consistently off their formerly torrid pace in setting 14 consecutive annual sales records in the United States. Canadian gas deliveries to the U.S. fell by 5.3% to 2.745 Tcf in the first three-quarters of the current gas contract year that ends Oct. 31 from 2.9 Tcf in the same period of 2000-01, the National Energy Board reports.

For the first time since a marathon success streak began with the advent of the “continental market” in the mid-1980s, Canadian natural gas exporters have weathered a setback in the United States. On the heels of posting the 14th consecutive record year for the trade in 2001, new data showed Canadian sales, prices and revenues all took dives, as export deliveries ran afoul of a warm winter, a slowing economy, fuel-switching and surplus supplies in storage.

The flat pattern that had dominated prices at most points from last Thursday through Monday was broken up Tuesday with upticks that tended to range from about a nickel to a little more than a dime. A few scattered points remained basically unchanged again, while variations from the overall trend included a drop of a nickel at Transco Station 85 (Mobile Bay) and a gain of about a quarter at Transco Zone 6-New York City.

Ending its streak of up-days at four, natural gas futures sunk lower Friday, as lagging cash market prices prompted traders to take profits ahead of the weekend. After stalling at $5.48 for the second day in a row, the May contract spiraled lower to close at $5.388, a 3.4-cent loss for the day.