Warm

MRT said it will lift its warm weather-related System Protection Warning Friday.

MRT said it will lift its warm weather-related System Protection Warning Friday.

Expectations of a warm-up early next week, combined with some moving and shaking by one of the major natural gas funds, helped November natural gas futures on Wednesday to continue testing downside support. The prompt-month contract recorded a low of $4.399 before closing the regular session at $4.436, down 15.2 cents from Tuesday.

Other than highs starting to reach the 90-degree area again Wednesday in the Northeast and more modest warm-ups predicted in the Pacific Northwest, the market couldn’t count on much more cooling load than it had before Tuesday. Yet it found enough, coupled with screen support from the previous day’s 11.9-cent rebound by September futures, to achieve substantive gains at a majority of points Tuesday.

Although the pace of Atlantic tropical activity hastened rapidly over the weekend, the lack of menace to offshore production combined with generally moderate cooling load and the previous Friday’s 9.8-cent decline by September futures to produce losses at a modest majority of cash points Monday. However, price movement was mixed, with most gains concentrated in the Northeast, where above-normal highs in the low 90s remained in the forecast for Tuesday.

Forecasts of very warm to sizzling weather Tuesday across quite a few market areas, along with the 14.5-cent rebound by futures Friday and the return of industrial load from its typical weekend decline, were able to raise cash prices at nearly all points Monday. The source of some of the demand was obscure, though, because cooling trends are due at some western locations in the South and Midwest.

At the start of Wednesday’s gas day MRT lifted a warm weather-related System Protection Warning that it had implemented Sunday.

After lifting a warm weather-related System Protection Warning (SPW) Friday, MRT said a new one would become effective Sunday until further notice. See the bulletin board for SPW conditions and requirements.

After ending one warm weather-related System Protection Warning (SPW) last Wednesday, MRT said it is issuing another one for Tuesday. See the bulletin board for SPW conditions.