Imperial News

The wrong kind of weather

by Zara Qadir

Natural gas prices have finally risen after the biggest surge in demand in 11 months

This was created by the blast of Arctic weather covering the north and Mid-West in the USA.

Natural gas in storage is up, but warmer-than-average December weather had been keeping that gas in place. Prices had fallen nearly 38% since mid-November as soaring domestic production had been met with weak demand amid an unusually mild start to winter until the last week’s icy conditions.

The EIA had attributed the lower pricing to heating demands that were lower than expected, as well as increased natural gas production. “Natural gas prices have recently fallen to two-year lows as growing domestic natural gas production has bolstered natural gas inventories,” EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said in a news release before January’s extreme cold took hold. It’s now anticipated that gas stores will be depleted during the second half of January and February.