Virtually

Mixed price movement returned to the market Friday following losses at virtually all points a day earlier, but mostly moderate softness stayed highly dominant.

Mixed price movement returned to the market Friday following losses at virtually all points a day earlier, but mostly moderate softness stayed highly dominant.

Weak fundamentals and screen guidance drove virtually all points lower Thursday by greater amounts than Wednesday’s losses in nearly all cases, and it’s a virtual certainty that major softness will continue Friday — and very likely through next week.

Can the cash market run the table this week? It extended its chances quite a bit Thursday by recording increases at virtually all points again. Cooling load was due to get a little boost in parts of the Midwest and was returning to some extent in interior California, although forecasts were mostly moderate in the rest of the Midwest and the Northeast. The previous day’s 4.1-cent gain by futures was an additional modest bullish influence.

Further price increases occurred at virtually all points Tuesday. The previous day’s September futures surge of 37.8 cents was considered chiefly responsible for the cash strength. However, modest warming trends in sections of the South, along with continued above-normal temperatures in the Northeast and scorching readings from Texas-Oklahoma through the desert Southwest, contributed a substantive amount of cooling load to overall gas demand.

The cash market managed to scrape together enough cooling demand to record gains at virtually all points Monday, even with the negative guidance of the previous Friday’s 9-cent decline by September futures. The return of industrial load from its weekend decline provided a little additional support.

After futures had plunged 35.4 cents a day earlier, it was virtually inevitable that cash numbers fell at nearly all points Thursday. Some cooling load will be returning in the South Friday after a midweek cooldown, but the contribution to gas demand will be meager for the most part and overall weather fundamentals remain weak going into the weekend.

Prices continued to rise at virtually all points Monday despite a relative dearth of significant heating load. Yes, there were still some forecasts of low temperatures around freezing or less for Tuesday in the Northeast, Upper Plains, Rockies and Alberta, but those are largely taken for granted and lightly regarded in late March.

Cash prices fell virtually across the board Friday, depressed by forecasts of moderate weather in most regions and the previous day’s drop of just over a quarter by April futures. The decline of industrial load during a weekend was an additional, albeit minor, bearish influence.