Natural gas prices hit record high amid Midwestern snowstorms

By Nicole Ziegler Dizon

Associated Press Writer

Natural gas prices soared to a record high Dec. 10 as a snowstorm socked the Midwest and bitter cold was forecast through at least mid-month.

The soaring prices could almost immediately show up as increases in consumers’ heating bills, analysts said.

Prices were up as much as 13 percent, hitting a high of $9.65 per 1,000 cubic feet in regular trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Nov. 10 after surging as high as $9.86 in electronic trading overnight.

Phil Flynn, vice president and senior energy analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago, said Nov. 10 that a storm that was expected to dump up to a foot of snow on Chicago raised fears that utilities may not have enough natural gas stored up to get through a harsh winter.

Cold weather in the Pacific Northwest has also contributed to the rise in prices, he said.

“It’s more of a psychological situation than a real situation right now,” Flynn said. “I would expect that the first big break in the weather will bring a break in the market.”

Natural gas, once thought of mainly as a source for winter heating, has become a year-round fuel used to generate the electricity that powers air conditioners and computers. But that rise in use has not been accompanied by an equal growth in capacity, so supplies are tight.