In some circles, there’s no such thing as “clean coal.” That’s why President Barack Obama is going to give power plants a little incentive to use natural gas. If they bite, it could be a win for big oil and natural gas exchange traded funds (ETFs).
John Dimsdale for Marketplace Public Radio reports Obama is unveiling a proposal for coal-burning power plants to switch to natural gas. That’s because natural gas is cleaner, and the United States has got it in spades. Big oil might like the proposal, too, as many companies have made significant investments into natural gas. The trade-off? Coal is still cheaper than gas, and coal means lots of jobs for economically-depressed parts of the country, like Appalachia. [Harnessing Energy With ETFs.]
Jason Womack for The Wall Street Journal reports that natural gas futures are moving higher as a low pressure system moves in to the Eastern part of the United States, meaning that there’s more heating demand. On the other hand, winter is beginning to wind down and natural gas reserves are high, so it will be interesting to watch how this plays out. [Why Commodity ETFs Underperformed Spot Markets.]
Natural gas in U.S. storage for the week ended Feb. 12 stood at 2.025 trillion cubic feet; 1.3% higher than last year and 2.7% above the five-year average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. [The Four Types of Commodity ETFs.]