New US Gas Pipelines to Keep Prices Low this Winter

Bloomberg reported that with natural gas pipelines in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia slated to provide 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by the end of 2012, the current supply glut is not expected to wane.

As quoted in the market news:

Gas prices have dropped 60 percent since 2007 as producers used techniques such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to reach supplies trapped deep in tight layers of shale. Gas futures tumbled to $1.902 per million British thermal units in April, the lowest price since 2002, as stockpiles ballooned during a mild winter and record U.S. production.

Natural gas for October delivery rose 9.9 cents, or 3.4 percent, to settle at $3.023 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have gained 1.1 percent this year.

The futures have averaged $2.679 since the April low after rising as high as $3.277. Prices may average $3.20 per million Btu during the first quarter of 2013, when demand peaks, based on the median of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.