Natural-gas prices surged to an all-time high Tuesday, as cold weather in the United States and ongoing disrupted production in the Gulf of Mexico caused traders to worry that supplies of home-heating fuels will be tight this winter.
Nymex natural gas for January rose as high as $15.78 per 1,000 cubic feet then settled at $15.378, up 53.7 cents from Monday’s settlement. The previous record close was $14.994 on Dec. 8. Nymex heating oil gained 6.4 cents to settle at $1.8365 a gallon Tuesday, while gasoline settled marginally lower at $1.6459 a gallon.
Light sweet crude for January delivery rose 7 cents to settle at $61.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since Nov. 3. January Brent futures at London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 2 cents to settle at $59.48 a barrel.
