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This is your Daily Natural Gas Price Tracker with Vanessa Clark podcast.

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Daily Natural Gas Price Tracker. I'm Vanessa Clark, and boy do we have some exciting market movements to talk about today. If you've been paying attention to your heating bills or watching the energy markets, you know that natural gas prices have been absolutely soaring lately, and we're going to break down exactly what's happening and what it means for you.

Let's start with the headline number. As of December first, the Henry Hub spot price, which is basically the benchmark for natural gas prices in the United States, closed at four dollars and eighty-one per million British thermal units. That's a nearly fifty percent increase compared to the same time last year. Now, the January futures contract even climbed higher, closing Monday at four dollars and ninety-two cents, hitting near three year highs. We're talking about prices that haven't been this elevated since 2022, folks.

So what's driving this incredible rally? There are really two major factors at play right now. First, we've got cold weather. Forecasters are predicting intense cold across the Northeast and Great Lakes region starting December third through the seventh. When temperatures drop, demand for natural gas for heating skyrockets. But here's the second factor that's really important, and honestly, it's the bigger story. We're seeing record breaking liquefied natural gas exports out of the United States. In fact, November hit a record one point two million tons of LNG exports, and U.S. feed gas going to LNG terminals is projected to exceed nineteen billion cubic feet per day. The world is hungry for American natural gas right now, which is tightening up supplies domestically and pushing prices higher.

Now, you might be wondering, wait, doesn't America have lots of natural gas? And you'd be right. U.S. dry gas production is actually forecast to reach one hundred six billion cubic feet per day in 2026. We're producing record amounts. But here's the catch. More and more of that production is being exported to meet international demand, particularly as Europe moves away from Russian gas and Asia's economy keeps growing. That means less natural gas available domestically, which supports these higher prices.

What does this mean for your wallet? Well, if you're a residential customer heating your home with natural gas, expect your heating bills to be significantly higher this winter. Reports show that residential gas bills are up eleven point seven percent year over year already. If prices stay elevated through the winter months, and current forecasts suggest Henry Hub could average around three dollars and ninety cents with peaks around four dollars and twenty-five cents in January, those heating bills could continue climbing.

From an investment perspective, natural gas producers like EQT Corporation are loving this environment. EQT's earnings grew by more than four hundred sixty six percent over the past year because of higher prices. LNG exporters like Cheniere Energy are also major beneficiaries. But here's where it gets interesting for consumers. Energy intensive industries like chemical manufacturers and fertilizer producers are getting squeezed hard. When natural gas costs go up, their production costs go up dramatically, and often those costs get passed along to consumers through higher prices for everything from fertilizer to chemicals to plastics.

Looking ahead to 2026, analysts are expecting continued strength in natural gas prices, though we might see some relief as new LNG export facilities come online in the United States and other countries. But robust global demand, particularly from Asia, will likely keep prices supported at elevated...