NEW YORK - Natural gas prices tumbled yesterday after the government reported the United States is using so little that it has more in storage now than at any other time on record.
The report was welcome news for homeowners who use natural gas. Suppliers already have cut rates in many parts of the country, and a continued drop in natural gas prices should convince others to cut prices.
Natural gas for November delivery fell 34.7 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $4.49 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York.
The Energy Information Administration reported that underground aquifers and caverns in the lower 48 states stored 3.589 trillion cubic feet of natural gas last week, topping the previous record high of 3.545 trillion cubic feet, set on Nov. 2, 2007. Government records go back to 1975.
Analyst Steven Schork said supplies have grown so much that the country is nearing its storage capacity for natural gas. If that happens, producers could dump more of it on the open market, dropping prices even more.