Trends

Trends toward milder temperatures prompted price declines at a large majority of points Friday. The bearish weekend impact of reduced industrial load was heightened by the Christmas holiday being taken off Monday.

Thursday’s cash market featured mostly small moves up or down from flat. Although cooling trends were approaching in the Northeast, South and parts of the Midwest, really frigid weather is due to remain fairly scarce in North America outside central and western Canada. The previous day’s screen drop of 14.3 cents contributed to cash losses moderately outnumbering the gains.

Milder weather trends continue in the South, while temperature changes are mixed in various parts of the Midwest. Nevertheless, the continuation of winter-like conditions in much of the North American market assured that this week’s overall price advance extended into its third day Wednesday.

Range Resources Corp. CEO John Pinkerton said he believes 2012 will be “a breakout year” for the company as it ramps up production in the Marcellus Shale and develops assets in other plays to replace those in the Barnett Shale that were sold in April.

Reflecting the downward trends in the latest national statistics, Xcel Energy Inc. on Friday said it will decrease its retail natural gas and power rates in Colorado Oct. 1, assuming state regulators approve the move. A day earlier the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported year-over-year declining gas and electricity bills for consumers.

The fickle nature of weather trends came into play in the gas market again Friday as hot weekend forecasts for much of the U.S. and even extending into parts of central and Eastern Canada generated rallies at a large majority of points. The previous day’s 2.5-cent futures loss following a moderately bearish storage report and the usual weekend decline of industrial load had relatively minimal impact.

Prices continued to fall at a large majority of points Friday despite a few slight reversals of cooling trends. The overall diminution of air conditioning load from earlier in the week was still largely in place, and it was abetted by the previous day’s 8.4-cent decline by August futures following a bearish storage report and the usual drop of industrial load during a weekend in pushing cash numbers lower.

Long-term gas demand trends worldwide will support a “bright future” for liquefied natural gas (LNG), but most of the development action will be in the Pacific Basin, according to a new report from Douglas-Westwood. The Pacific Basin is expected to be “the main contributor” to a 10-year global investment high of $26 billion annually by 2015, the firm said in a new report.

Long-term gas demand trends worldwide will support a “bright future” for liquefied natural gas (LNG), but most of the development action will be in the Pacific Basin, according to a new report from Douglas-Westwood. The Pacific Basin is expected to be “the main contributor” to a 10-year global investment high of $26 billion annually by 2015, the firm said in a new report.