Prices came out of the weekend ranging from flat to moderately higher at nearly all eastern points Monday. Much bigger increases, including triple-digit ones in California, reigned in the West, a region that was experiencing weather extremes Sunday and Monday.

The cash rally got no Nymex support; in fact, June futures fell more than a dime. But temperatures in the northern tier of states from the Rockies eastward conceivably were chilling enough that some people were turning furnaces on again, a marketer observed.

Except for potential new western gains, several sources expect the overall cash market to turn downward again today. The screen is likely to keep falling as traders factor in widespread expectations of a fourth straight AGA storage injection report of 100 Bcf or more this week, they said. Guessing about another high injection figure was depressing futures Monday “and we look for more of the same [Tuesday],” a Midcontinent trader said. He anticipates the storage data and bearish weather forecasts to push the screen down to $3.86 before next Tuesday’s expiration of the June contract.

Rockies pipes were starting to see $3-plus pricing again in late trading, as it became difficult in parts of the area to appreciate that the season was still late spring. A quick-hitting snowstorm snarled operations at the Denver airport Sunday. Regional temperatures were expected to stay at least 20 degrees below normal through today, but will start warming up again later this week, one forecasting service said.

Meanwhile, traders in the California market said they saw a significant increase in the state’s power generation load as temperatures began to soar in inland areas and in Arizona. PG&E citygate and border-PG&E quotes saw the day’s biggest advances of more than $3 each. It was worth noting that following a week of high-linepack OFO, PG&E indicated Monday that its linepack will be bumping up against minimum target levels over the next few days.

Activity at Canadian trading points was understandably very quiet as a result of Monday’s national Victoria Day holiday. “Yes, we’re celebrating a long-dead English queen,” laughed one Calgary source reached at home on his cell phone.

At least one Midwestern source anticipates a general rush to finish end-of-May business by Thursday in order to clear the decks for June’s holiday weekend-split bidweek. If the screen breaks below $4 before then, he said, “I think we’ll see a lot of early June buying by those who fear getting caught by a post-holiday bidweek spike.”

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