Sufficient

June natural gas futures fell Tuesday as the market opened up but was unable to muster sufficient momentum to break higher. Some traders are still optimistic of an advance, however.

As a marketer had predicted a day earlier, the 6.2-cent drop by futures combined with a lack of heating load in nearly all areas would be sufficient to cause mostly small losses in the cash market Tuesday.

As a marketer had predicted a day earlier, the 6.2-cent drop by futures combined with a lack of heating load in nearly all areas would be sufficient to cause mostly small losses in the cash market Tuesday.

As a Texas marketer had suspected, Tuesday’s decline of 15.8 cents by March futures was sufficient to take cash prices lower Wednesday, abetted by moderate warming trends in some areas. Although he thought some of the areas experiencing the most severe winter weather might be able to keep firming, it turned out that double-digit drops occurred across the board.

As a Texas marketer had suspected, Tuesday’s decline of 15.8 cents by March futures was sufficient to take cash prices lower Wednesday, abetted by moderate warming trends in some areas. Although he thought some of the areas experiencing the most severe winter weather might be able to keep firming, it turned out that double-digit drops occurred across the board.

Cash traders did not consider forecasts of Wednesday lows in the teens and 20s in the Northeast and Midwest — and as low as around zero in the Minneapolis area — to be sufficient to rally prices in post-holiday business Tuesday. Following another below-expectations storage pull report last Thursday, use of storage supplies was believed to be a continuing significant factor in suppressing demand for spot gas.

Prices finally found this week’s buildup of heating load — mostly in the East — to be sufficient to realize gains at nearly all points Wednesday. The January futures advance of 1.3 cents Tuesday provided a smidgen of extra support to Wednesday’s cash market.

Saying “current economics are not sufficient to proceed,” Agrium Inc. is setting aside plans for a coal gasification facility to supply syngas to its Nikiski nitrogen plant in Kenai, AK. Mothballing of the facility will be completed shortly, Agrium said, and the plans may be revisited again in the future.

Saying “current economics are not sufficient to proceed,” Agrium Inc. is setting aside plans for a coal gasification facility to supply syngas to its Nikiski nitrogen plant in Kenai, AK. Mothballing of the facility will be completed shortly, Agrium said, and the plans may be revisited again in the future.