Natural gas prices have soared to a 14-year high. Here's why.
CBSN
Add natural gas to the list of commodities in the U.S. whose prices are surging. Costs for the fossil fuel, which is used for heating and electricity as well as to produce plastics and petrochemicals, this year jumped to a 14-year high. The spot price for natural gas at the Henry Hub — a U.S. benchmark — crossed $8 per thousand cubic feet this week, its highest level since 2008.
"These prices are unsustainably high," said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst with investment bank Raymond James.
At their peak, natural gas prices averaged $4.40 per thousand cubic feet in 2008 and 2014, while diving to $2.10 at its low point in 2020. By that measure, the current price is "definitely off-the-charts high, and that's not going to persist forever," Molchanov said.