Bullish Short-Term and Long-Term Outlook for Natural Gas

Due to weather that is colder than normal in the United States, the exchange traded fund for natural gas, United States Natural Gas UNG, is up more than 4.5% for the last week of trading. For the decades ahead, the "World Energy Outlook", just released from the International Energy Agency, offers a bullish long-term future for natural gas. Due to fracking, the price of natural gas has fallen in recent years as vast reservoirs that were previously unreachable have been tapped into by improving technology. The fundamental laws of supply and demand resulted in the price of natural gas falling: in 2011, United States Natural Gas was trading near $50. At present, it is under $18. From those falling prices, more naturally started using natural gas as a fuel source. Close to half of all American homes now heat with natural gas. More utilities have switched over to natural gas from coal. Not only was the price more attractive, but natural gas does less damage to the environment than coal. The "World Energy Outlook" sees fossil fuel usage increasing greatly and still dominating the market in the decades ahead. Even with the growth in alternative energy, fossil fuels are still expected to provide 75% of the world's energy by 2035. More of that will come from natural gas, as has transpired in recent years. For investors looking to profit from this bullish outlook, both short- and long-term, for natural gas, there are variety of securities to consider. For a pure natural gas play, there is United States Natural Gas. Companies in various sectors of the natural gas industry include Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK, Range Resources RRC, and Southwestern Energy SWN. Major oil firms such as Exxon Mobil XOM and Chevron CVX also offer exposure to the bullish forecast for natural gas. Dividend income from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Range Resources, and Chesapeake Energy Corporation will increase the total return for investors.