Natural gas hits $3.43

Natural gas hits $3.43. Chart.

Natural gas doesn't get anywhere the attention that oil does but it's just as important.

US prices are up 9-cents today to $3.43 mmbtf.

That's a big technical break after two tops in the past 8 months but what's especially notable is the time of year. Big gas spikes often come on cold weather in the winter.

There hasn't been a summer spike since 2013. The US is using more natural gas for power generation than in the past and temperatures have been hot and are expected to stay that way.

In today's weekly report, the consensus was for a 64 mbcf build in supplies but it was only 55. It's injection season but inventories are building more slowly.

Looking out the curve, January gas is trading at $3.64 but there's the potential for a spike if drilling continues to be low and LNG exports to an extremely tight Asian and European market continue.