Natural Gas Prices On The Rise

Rising natural gas prices. Rising stock prices for producers. And rising utility bills for consumers.

So what gives?

As demand for natural gas rose early this summer, supply remained level or even decreased. The result was natural gas prices nearly double what they were at the same time in 2020, according to this June 20 article from the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ reported at that time that natural gas futures prices had hit $3.215 per million British thermal units, up 96% from the same point a year earlier. Those prices only increased heading into July, rising to a 52-week high of $3.70 per million British thermal units.

The world’s economies continue the reopening process, and demand for gas has risen thanks to cooling needs during the hot summer months. But supply has not risen to meet those demands, with the WSJ reporting that natural gas output in the U.S. declined for 11 straight months, through March 2021. According to the report, “Shareholders and analysts pressured producers to focus less on growing volume and more on profitability. (And) the reward has been climbing stock prices.”

These trends might very well continue heading toward the winter months. With U.S. natural gas inventory 16% below 2020 levels and nearly 5% below the five-year average, the WSJ reported, “Analysts expect prices to be even higher later in the year when it is time to fire up furnaces.”

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