The number of days in which temperatures dropped to heating-degree level were nearly 30 percent below normal in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in November, according to the Energy Information Administration's monthly short-term energy outlook.
Natural gas prices averaged $7.63 per thousand cubic feet during the month, well below the price spikes seen last year in the wake of a destructive hurricane season. But prices then fizzled as winter 2006 temperatures were warmer than usual.
In 2007, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects a colder winter compared with last year _ but temperatures will likely trend above normal. Natural gas prices are expected to hover below $9 per thousand cubic feet as a result, the EIA said.
Natural gas settled at $7.43 per thousand cubic feet Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
