By Steve Gelsi
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Natural gas futures on Friday fell 1.6% to $3.98 per million British thermal units, dropping below $4 for the first time since Nov. 19. Phil Flynn of commodities trading firm PFG Best said it's also the first time that natural gas has fallen below $4 in the month of December since 2001. "If you go back over the last few years, in December it's cold and the prices go up," Flynn said. "To be under $4 is almost unheard of." Normally, demand rises during the onset of winter, but this year, plentiful supplies of natural gas from U.S. domestic production have helped keep prices down, Flynn said. Also on Friday, crude oil futures fell 0.6% to $87.20 a barrel. Oil has been on a downward path since early this week, when the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled no new stimulus under its quantitative easing plan, cooling off demand for some commodities.
