In the United States, January was 27 percent warmer than normal, pushing prices for natural gas lower than predicted in the previous, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) short term energy outlook.
But cold weather in parts of Asia and Europe combined with uncertainties regarding oil supplies from Nigeria, Iran and Iraq help keep crude oil prices high.
Prices for crude oil and petroleum products are projected to remain high through 2006 before starting to weaken in 2007.
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, which averaged $56 per barrel in 2005, is projected to average $65 per barrel in 2006 and $61 in 2007. Retail regular gasoline prices, which averaged $2.27 per gallon in 2005, are projected to average $2.45 in 2006 and $2.34 in 2007 Henry Hub natural gas prices, which averaged $9.00 per thousand cubic feet (mcf) in 2005, are projected to average $8.87 in 2006 and $8.70 in 2007, according to the EIA.
