Some light warming trends notwithstanding, next-day heating load remained heavy Wednesday and continued to push prices higher at nearly all points. Sub-freezing lows remained plentiful in the overall forecast for Thursday, and some locations in the Rockies, Midwest and Western Canada could expect to see temperatures again sinking to around zero or less.
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No Blizzards, But Prices Soar Across the Board
Modest warming trends, several of which would be under way as early as Wednesday, proved to be no deterrent to a suddenly gangbusters cash market. Getting an extra boost from the previous day’s screen uptick of 22.2 cents, all points were involved in large increases Tuesday.
East Mostly Near Flat; West Sees Some Major Dips
With some additions to heating load in the East being arrayed against a Rockies warming trend and a significant drop by prompt-month futures a day earlier, the result was little price movement up or down at eastern locations Tuesday along with fairly large declines at a majority of western points.
Screen Dive Pulls All of Cash Market Lower
The expiration-day plunge by November futures had the anticipated effect of dragging all cash points considerably lower Thursday. Also, warming trends in the Northeast and Rockies were reducing heating load further. The fact that Thursday’s deals included a weekend flow day (Saturday) because of the transition to a new month on Sunday added another modestly bearish element to the market.
Market Sees Another Day of Mostly Small Gains
Despite moderate warming getting under way across much of eastern North America and in the southern, northern and coastal sections of the West, cash prices, with the support of a prior-day screen gain of 4.4 cents, still managed to find enough weather-based load — particularly in the Rockies — to record increases at a large majority of points Wednesday.
‘We Are the World’ Approach Best to Beat CO2, Report Says
Tackling carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions would mitigate global warming but also would be a boon to employment and gross domestic product (GDP) in the world’s major economies, according to a new report by international nongovernmental organization The Climate Group.
Screen, Cooling Load Gains Boost All Points
Although no major heat waves were on the weather radar outside the continuing one from the south-central U.S. through the Southwest, modest warming trends in the Midwest and parts of the Northeast and South, along with the previous day’s August futures increase of 8.8 cents, were enough to generate price increases across the board Thursday.
Virtually All Points Increase on Growing Heat Levels
The Northeast remains unusually mild for mid-July, but warming trends in the Midwest and Rockies/Pacific Northwest allowed prices to find enough cooling load in other areas to rise at all points Tuesday. In doing so, the cash market defied a further drop of 11 cents by August futures a day earlier. The Rockies had most of the top increases as a substantial number of locations recorded double-digit advances.
WSI: El Nino Calming Hurricane Predictions
A new El Nino event — warming of surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific ocean — combined with cooler Atlantic ocean temperatures is likely to make the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season “relatively quiet,” Andover, MA-based WSI Corp. said Monday.
GasMart 2009: Integrys Utility Chief Says Gas Is the Answer
Natural gas is not just a bridge to renewables but rather is the fuel of the future in an era when beating global warming tops agendas in Washington, DC, and gas producers have stoked supplies with unconventional drilling success, a leading utility executive said last Wednesday.