So, how’s your pulse right now? This was a very tough week. While many Americans are wondering how the current financial situation will affect their lives, you already know. You’ve been dealing with the effects for weeks.
Anyone who is still unsure about the role that speculation played in natural gas prices this summer should look at the NYMEX figures for this week. The story of the past seven days has been investors pulling money out of just about everything…the stock market, the commodities market, all markets…while they wait for the government bailout/rescue plan to have some palpable effect on credit. No one is lending, so no one is buying, and no one is taking any risks at all.
The gradual pullout of investors from commodities such as natural gas has resulted in a drop from highs over $14 in July and August to below $7 this past week. The basic forces of supply and demand are back in control, and at the moment, supply is in good shape and demand is slack.
On the supply side, strategic reserves will be near last year’s record level going into winter, fall weather has been mild with winter weather expected to at least start out the same way, and hurricanes have had only a temporary impact on production. On the demand side, the current economic situation has caused the American economy to hit the shutoff valve.
But like the Terminator, speculators will be back. So will double-digit natural gas prices. Not this year, probably not next year, but eventually.
Where some see crisis, others see opportunity. Where some hold their collective breaths, others act. Ask Warren Buffett. Or ask us. Cost Containment Intl. believes there are opportunities in the energy market right now which no one could have imagined a few months ago. This is a great time to act if you know the right steps to take. We’ve got strategies you will want to hear about. Credit is tight. Liquidity is in short supply. But everyone is in the same boat right now, and new buyers are very welcome. If you’re tied down on natural gas and electricity, there are opportunities in your other operational spends.