Natural gas prices in the United States have been on a trend to historic lows, writes author Jude Clemente March 9 in Real Clear Energy, and can be expected to continue in that direction into the summer, driven down in particular by gas production associated with shale oil.
Gas prices led commodities downward in 2019, falling by nearly 30%, he observes, and at time of writing had already collapsed to a four-year low, aided in that decline by a mild winter and then the corona virus slowdown, and leading now to a “whopping” surplus. Summer gas prices can expect to see yet another record low, he says. Accordingly, given gas’ utility as a supplement for other energy sources like coal and wind, gas can expect another record for demand this summer.
“Such low prices for gas will be an enormous challenge for renewables and their required battery systems to compete against,” he concludes.
Jude Clemente is Editor at RealClearEnergy.
Original article here.