NEW YORK (AP) - Natural gas is cheaper this winter than it's been in a decade.
Prices have dropped by more than 10 percent in the past week, including a plunge of almost 6 percent on Wednesday, as mild temperatures cut into heating demand and a production boom pumps up supplies.
Natural gas demand usually soars in the winter as homeowners and businesses crank up the heat. But in many parts of the U.S., thermostats haven't been turned up as much this year.
The winter of 2012 has yet to pack much punch, with average temperatures well above normal. December was particularly warm in the Northeast and upper Midwest, where homeowners typically face frigid weather and high winter heating bills. In the Northeast, there have been only four warmer Decembers in the last 117 years, according to the National Weather Service. Long-range forecasts show above-average temperatures continuing over the next few weeks.