Natural-Gas Market Goes Cold

[jpak]

Source: Wall Street Journal

NEW YORK—The benchmark U.S. natural-gas price tumbled to its biggest one-day decline since February 2014 on expectations of a deepening supply glut.

Forecasts for warm fall weather across swaths of the U.S. spurred the nearly 10% plunge on Monday. Above-average temperatures at the start of heating season will undercut seasonal demand, analysts say, boosting stockpiles that already are near record highs.

“The market is now in absolute free fall,” said Stephen Schork, editor of energy-trading newsletter The Schork Report. “There’s no real strong forecast for any weather-[related] demand in the near future.”

The North American natural-gas market has been mired in a supply glut for years amid robust output. Companies continue to grow more efficient at extracting the fuel from shale rocks in Pennsylvania, Texas and elsewhere, and they’re able to maintain production even as gas prices plumb three-year lows.

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Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/warm-fall-weather-sends-natural-gas-sliding-1445870080

[Travis_0004]

1. I locked in my gas prices just a bit ago at .379CCF

Should make for a cheap winter heating season.

[notadmblnd]

8. Here's my numbers for my last bill. I'm not locked in to anything

Customer Charge
$11.50

Gas Distribution
1.9 @2.702100 $ 5.13

Energy Efficiency
1.9 @0.210800 $0.40

U-17643 Interim
1.9 @0.141800- $0.27-

Gas Cost Recovery
1.9 @3.313400 $6.30

Total Natural Gas $23.06

I'm all up for a cheap winter.

[OakCliffDem]

2. I can hear the big energy companies now

'The natural gas price fell below that which we could make a profit producing it. Now that the winter has arrived, and all you customers need gas, we will just have to raise prices to restart production.'

The consumer will have not choice but to pay whatever the corporations choose to charge. If we had centralized energy production controlled by the Government, these companies would not be able to manipulate the market to make huge profits.

We need a remake of our economy, and Bernie Sanders can start the process.

[saturnsring]

6. yea that's right superman bernie sanders will fix it - you know how much power the president holds

when it comes to domestic policy, congress has nothing to do with it so let's make Bernie president and he'll fix the whole country right away

[Travis_0004]

10. Most places allow you to lock in your rates

Also, I do not get my gas or electricity from my power company. I don't care if they raise rates, since I don't buy it from them.

[7962]

3. Buy. Its gonna be a cold winter. nt

[underpants]

4. This was the problem with natural gas on a big scale from the beginning

especially in terms of fleets of vehicles relying on it. It's way too susceptible to speculation and other market forces. A little dip and production slows or stops. Fleets of vehicles relying on it would suddenly be without it or prices would be crushing.

[modrepub]

5. Company Bonds/Dividends

You never hear how these extended depressed prices will impact gas company bonds and dividends. Extended low prices create cash flow problems that can lead to bankruptcy in extreme cases, consolidation in less extreme cases. The current low interest rate environment helps alleviate some of these problems but who know how much longer they will stay low. There are bunches of natural gas-fired power plants that are due to come online over the next five years so oversupply may be temporary.

[mpcamb]

7. While I love cheap heat, 'market manipulation' is the phrase that comes to mind.

Create a crisis and a recession and make sure YOUR pick wins the next election
My kids tell me there's no situation too far fetched for me to see a conspiracy.
Then again, maybe this is how free markets actually operate.

[FSogol]

9. Hurray! Fracking.

[hunter]

12. Oh Boy! More fracking gas electricity too!

All the way until the oceans overwhelm the coasts and great areas of the earth become hostile to human life and our agriculture.

[Thor_MN]

11. "a deepening supply glut." Kind of an oxymoron...