Concerns Raised over Low U.S. LNG stockpiles

Reuters reported today that although market prices have still not reacted to lowered U.S. natural gas supplies following this year’s harsh winter season, experts are worrying that producers will not be able to meet demand next winter. Analysts worry that shortages could lead to higher residential bills and take a bite out of company earnings in the near future, according to Reuters.

As quoted in the market news:

The concerns center on a set of extraordinary circumstances: stocks are at 11-year lows; flat futures prices make it uneconomic for utilities to hold onto gas and burn it later, and a fractured network of pipelines means gas in big producing regions, including the country’s biggest Marcellus Shale play centered in Pennsylvania, is stranded away from storage caverns. Forecasts of a hotter-than-average summer have raised worries that higher demand could add further strain on stockpiles.

New York Citigroup Analyst, Anthony Yuen, told Reuters:

People are not taking it seriously. The market seems to have become complacent.

Click here to read the full Reuters article.