(Washington D.C.) - U.S. Congressmen Sam Graves introduced a bi-partisan bill with John Barrow of Georgia to bring transparency and oversight to the natural gas market. Despite high gas inventories and gas production in recent years, prices continue to be extremely volatile and are prone to huge spikes as a result of increased speculative trading.

 

“The price is being driven by speculation and manipulation of the market by traders in New York City,” said Graves. “They make money and it’s the consumer who ends up paying more.”

 

One study showed that natural gas heats about 55% of America’s households and makes up 70-90% of the production costs for nitrogen based fertilizer. As a result of recent increases in demand and price, many of the nation’s farmer have seen their fertilizer costs more than double, while those Americans living on fixed incomes-like many seniors-find themselves spending more and more of their limited income to heat their homes.

 

“Right now natural gas prices are less reliable than the weather,” said Graves. “It’s manufacturers, seniors and farmers who are being burned by artificially high natural gas prices.”

 

Natural gas accounts for more than 37% of industrial energy consumption. Since it is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, many industries switched to natural gas to comply with clean air laws and now are being squeezed by high energy costs. A recently recovering manufacturing sector is being hampered by soaring natural gas prices.

 

H.R. 3009, The Market Transparency Reporting of United States Transactions (Market TRUST) Act is likely to be referred to the Agriculture Committee. In 2005, Graves and Barrow succeeded in getting similar language included in the reauthorization the Commodities Exchange Act. Congress has yet to reauthorize the Commodities Exchange Act.

 

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