The cash market overall retreated 28 cents Wednesday, but if multi-dollar swan dives taken by Northeast and other thinly traded points are excluded, the drop comes to a more meaningful 11 cents. Nearly all points sustained sizeable losses. Midcontinent and California locations were down by double digits, but Gulf points also weakened. At the close of futures trading May had fallen 6.9 cents to $3.900 and June was off by 6.9 cents as well to $3.950. May crude oil plunged $2.74 to $94.45 on unsupportive inventory data and weak economic news.
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Gulf, SoCal Lead Broad Advance; Futures At Record Open Interest
The cash market scored an average gain of 8 cents in Tuesday’s trading. Gains were widespread and only a handful of thinly traded points fell into the loss column.
Shippers Protest TransCanada Conversion
The proposed business restructuring of TransCanada Corp.’s shaky natural gas Mainline is a thinly disguised bailout of the company that will cost its customers C$3.2 billion, said an Alberta government watchdog agency (see related story).
Shippers, Consumers: TransCanada Restructuring a Costly Band-Aid
The proposed business restructuring of TransCanada Corp.’s shaky natural gas Mainline is a thinly disguised bailout of the company that will cost its customers C$3.2 billion, said an Alberta government watchdog agency.
Northeast Power Generators Make Sense Of $9 Gas; Futures Falter
Natural gas cash points overall vaulted on average by more than a dime Wednesday as the high demand and thinly supplied Northeast registered gains approaching $1.00 or more. Points to the south of New England saw smaller gains, and the Midwest was mixed. At the close of trading December futures had eased 3.9 cents to $3.578 and January had given up 3.4 cents to $3.714. December crude oil plunged $4.27 to $84.44/bbl.
Prices Plummet amid Receding Cold, Weak Screen, Mounting Storage Issues
A few dollar-plus plunges were recorded as prices took massive drops at virtually every point Friday (the thinly quoted Questar was a market aberration in falling less than a nickel). The cash market was beset on all sides by negative influences: warming trends eliminating much of the heating load that had developed earlier in the week; indications that the lack of storage options coupled with high linepack issues could be coming to a head; further prior-day futures weakness; and the drop of industrial load that is typical of a weekend.