Natural Gas Prices

Barron's (subscription):

NATURAL-GAS HAS COOLED OFF MORE THAN MOST other commodities lately -- thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures this winter. Even with cold snaps and big snow dumps in Denver, last month was the fourth-warmest December since the U.S. began keeping records in 1895, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The result: Demand has sagged and prices have followed. And there are few catalysts in sight on the near horizon.

In December, prices for near-month natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were about half what they were the previous year. On Dec. 27, January gas futures closed at $5.838 per million British thermal units, the lowest late-December closing price since 2002. Over all, 2006 was the warmest year on record in the U.S.

More on natural gas prices from MarketWatch.