Strongly

The cash market was up strongly at all points Monday, responding to a fair amount of current heating load and the prospect of a lot more arriving before the end of the week. The return of normal industrial demand from the weekend also played a part, and a Monday morning screen spike provided some upward impetus for late cash deals, although natural gas futures later gave back much of its morning gain.

As sources had predicted Friday, a sharp rebound from huge weekend price plunges was in store for Monday. Sure enough, all points rallied Monday by amounts ranging from about 40 cents to more than $1.30, with nearly all of the gains of a dollar or more being recorded in the West.

As sources had predicted Friday, a sharp rebound from huge weekend price plunges was in store for Monday. Sure enough, all points rallied Monday by amounts ranging from about 40 cents to more than $1.30, with nearly all of the gains of a dollar or more being recorded in the West.

The cash market rebounded strongly Monday from major weekend softness, although most points failed to recover as much price ground as they had surrendered on the preceding Friday. Gains ranged from around 30 cents to a dollar, with many gradations in between.

With New Mexico state leaders on record as strongly opposed, a long federal review process is now under way on Houston-based El Paso Corp.’s plans to drill for coal-bed methane in a pristine national forest region in the north-northeast part of the state. Even with political help from the White House, El Paso has indicated in some local news reports that it may not be interested in pursuing drilling leases.

Expectations of growing power generation load spurred by hotter weather in much of the U.S. early this week extended a cash market rally Friday and got the August aftermarket off to a strong start. Gains for Sunday-Monday flows (prompted by the month-to-month transition occurring Sunday) mostly ranged from about a nickel to a little more than 20 cents, although a couple of flat points sneaked into the overall picture.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) has strongly refuted claims in a lawsuit filed by two Colorado cities which accuse the company of overcharging customers located in high elevations by failing to adjust bills to reflect the effect of the higher altitude on the gas stream.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) has strongly refuted claims in a lawsuit filed by two Colorado cities which accuse the company of overcharging customers located in high elevations by failing to adjust bills to reflect the effect of the higher altitude on the gas stream.

Cash prices rose strongly Tuesday as the previous day’s energy futures support was amplified by heating load returning to parts of the Midwest and Northeast and cooling load continuing in California and the desert Southwest. Most points saw even bigger gains than on Monday, with overall advances remarkably homogenous through all regions in ranging from about a dime to a quarter.