Dow Jones: Natural gas to stay linked to oil: Bernstein

Natural gas prices will stay linked to the price of oil in most parts of the world, despite resistance from Asian and European importers seeking to benefit from a natural gas glut in the U.S., brokerage Sanford Bernstein says.

Amid a sharp increase in Asia's consumption of natural gas, a dramatic difference between regional and North American prices has left Asian importers frustrated.

The current gas glut in the U.S.--driven by an unconventional extraction technique called hydraulic fracturing--has driven prices down to average $2 to $3 per million British thermal units this year, far below the $13 to $18 level seen in Asia.

In Japan, the world's top importer of liquefied natural gas, the gas bill has soared in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.  MORE