Related News
Natural gas prices dip below US$2
Source: Agencies |
April 12, 2012, Thursday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
THE price of natural gas has dropped below US$2 per 1,000 cubic feet in US trading for the first time in more than a decade.
A mild winter and production boom have left the US with more natural gas than Americans can consume. Storage facilities are quickly filling up. The glut has pushed down the futures price of gas 59 percent since it peaked at US$4.85 last summer.
Yesterday the futures price passed a milestone. Gas dipped below US$2 to end the day at US$1.984 per 1,000 cubic feet. The last time it went below US$2 was Jan. 28, 2002, when it hit US$1.91.
Cheaper gas has already lowered heating bills this winter, and air conditioning costs are expected to fall this summer because many utilities generate electricity with natural gas. Major American manufacturers - including chemical companies, fertilizer plants, aluminum and steelmakers - also should benefit as energy costs tumble.
"If you're a consumer, this is great news," independent petroleum analyst Stephen Schork said. "This could spark a real rebirth of American manufacturing."
Supplies of gas are high because improved drilling techniques have allowed companies to produce more from vast, gas-rich layers of underground rock. Homeowners also have been using less natural gas for heating, thanks to a mild winter.
While consumers enjoy cheaper prices, producers will find it harder to turn a profit. Some have tried to slow production, but so far prices have continued to fall amid mild winter weather. Shares of natural gas producers Chesapeake and EQT Corp.fell more than 3 percent, and Energen Corp. dropped more than 2 percent in afternoon trading.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose on positive signs for the economy and energy demand. The stock market is up. And aluminum maker Alcoa surprised Wall Street with a first-quarter profit, thanks to stronger sales to carmakers and other manufacturers. Alcoa is the first major company to announce earnings for the quarter.
Benchmark US crude rose by US$1.68 to finish at US$102.70 per barrel yesterday. Brent crude increased by 30 cents to finish at US$120.18.
Retail gasoline prices fell by less than a penny to US$3.915 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Gasoline has dropped by about 2 cents over the past week, but it's still 64 cents higher than it was at the beginning of the year.
In other energy trading, heating oil rose by 1.92 cents to finish at US$3.1149 per gallon while gasoline futures climbed 4.59 cents to end at US$3.2955 per gallon.
A mild winter and production boom have left the US with more natural gas than Americans can consume. Storage facilities are quickly filling up. The glut has pushed down the futures price of gas 59 percent since it peaked at US$4.85 last summer.
Yesterday the futures price passed a milestone. Gas dipped below US$2 to end the day at US$1.984 per 1,000 cubic feet. The last time it went below US$2 was Jan. 28, 2002, when it hit US$1.91.
Cheaper gas has already lowered heating bills this winter, and air conditioning costs are expected to fall this summer because many utilities generate electricity with natural gas. Major American manufacturers - including chemical companies, fertilizer plants, aluminum and steelmakers - also should benefit as energy costs tumble.
"If you're a consumer, this is great news," independent petroleum analyst Stephen Schork said. "This could spark a real rebirth of American manufacturing."
Supplies of gas are high because improved drilling techniques have allowed companies to produce more from vast, gas-rich layers of underground rock. Homeowners also have been using less natural gas for heating, thanks to a mild winter.
While consumers enjoy cheaper prices, producers will find it harder to turn a profit. Some have tried to slow production, but so far prices have continued to fall amid mild winter weather. Shares of natural gas producers Chesapeake and EQT Corp.fell more than 3 percent, and Energen Corp. dropped more than 2 percent in afternoon trading.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose on positive signs for the economy and energy demand. The stock market is up. And aluminum maker Alcoa surprised Wall Street with a first-quarter profit, thanks to stronger sales to carmakers and other manufacturers. Alcoa is the first major company to announce earnings for the quarter.
Benchmark US crude rose by US$1.68 to finish at US$102.70 per barrel yesterday. Brent crude increased by 30 cents to finish at US$120.18.
Retail gasoline prices fell by less than a penny to US$3.915 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Gasoline has dropped by about 2 cents over the past week, but it's still 64 cents higher than it was at the beginning of the year.
In other energy trading, heating oil rose by 1.92 cents to finish at US$3.1149 per gallon while gasoline futures climbed 4.59 cents to end at US$3.2955 per gallon.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
