Once again several western points defied the overall downwardtrend of the cash market Tuesday. Most eastern quotes ranged 2-3cents to either side of down a nickel, but Rockies/San Juan andNorthern California increases went as high as a dime-plus.

Cash got little input from the screen as gas futures hoveredaround flat during the morning and didn’t make their eventual gainof a little over 7 cents until the afternoon. Thus cash traders hadto acknowledge that widespread mild weather justified nothingexcept further mild price softness.

However, there actually was a bit of cooling load in the West,particularly in California and parts of the desert Southwest, togive prices a boost there. It wasn’t much, one source noted, butthe power generation demand situation was heightened by a whoppingtotal of nine nuclear plant units in the West being at zeroproduction for various reasons as of Tuesday, according to theNuclear Regulatory Commision.

Malin numbers looked pretty weak Tuesday, said one trader, soshe took her gas on to the PG&E citygate to sell at $5.86.Tacking Redwood Path transportation costs of about 35 cents ontoMalin numbers in the mid to high $5.30s left more than a dime onthe table compared to citygates, she said.

Interest in today’s AGA storage report was even stronger thanusual due to predictions last week of a remarkably low injection.Few believed the figure would get into single digits, as at leastone consulting company projected, but nearly everbody is expectinga number considerably below last week’s 62 Bcf. “One guy I know whohit it on the head last week is saying mid 20s this time,” aMidcontinent marketer said. One would have to consider those typenumbers fundamentally bullish, he continued, but because the rumorsfor a much lower report have been factored into the market already,anything higher might be considered bearish. “It seems like a casefor the [market] psychologists,” he concluded.

Michael became the eighth Atlantic hurricane of the season andwas about 400 miles west-southwest of Bermuda Tuesday afternoon,the National Weather Services. Michael is a non-event for the gasindustry since it was drifting northward and expected to veertoward the north-northeast away from the U.S.

Several traders were in consensus that nearly all markets aregetting index-plus premiums in early deals for November gas. “Youhave to assume that means people must be expecting above-indexpricing in the November aftermarket,” said one, adding, “Does italso mean they’re expecting some severe cold weather?”

Chicago basis for November was hanging steady around plus 14Tuesday, “so it’s not taking any hit at all from the Vector delay,”a marketer said. Alliance still seems on track for startup Oct. 30;”they’re still testing their interconnect deliveries,” he said.

A Gulf Coast source said winter index premiums for that markethad strengthened slightly again this week after softening about aquarter-cent late last week.

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