Natural gas falls nearly 6% today to a decade low

Natural gas is the cheapest it’s been in a decade. Prices have dropped by more than 10% in the past week, including a plunge of almost 6% today, as a mild winter cuts into heating demand and a production boom pumps up supplies. Homeowners should eventually benefit from lower heating and electric bills. “There’s just too much gas out there, and there’s no evidence that people are shutting in gas production yet to compensate,” says Ron Denhardt, an analyst with Strategic Energy & Economic Research. Natural gas demand usually soars in the winter as homeowners and businesses crank up the heat. But in many parts of the United States, furnaces haven’t had to work as much this year. The winter of 2012 has yet to pack much punch, with average temperatures well above normal. December was particularly warm in the Northeast and upper Midwest, where homeowners typically face frigid weather and high winter heating bills. In the Northeast, there have been only four warmer Decembers in the last 117 years, according to the National Weather Service. Long-range forecasts show above-average temperatures continuing over the next few weeks. Read the full story from The Associated Press here, and read in the new Business Report cover story, by David Jacobs, how natural gas has Louisiana’s economy poised to see a positive year here.