????自從地震和海嘯導致日本一些核反應堆瀕臨融毀，天然氣價格已小幅上漲。一些交易員認定這會引發全球范圍內天然氣價格更大幅度的上漲，但美國的情況可能不同，因為美國國內可供應住宅和樓宇的天然氣不僅價格相對低廉，而且供過于求。

????日本現已關停11座核反應堆，隨著其國內多個核電站停運，市場普遍預期這個東亞島國將需要更多的液化天然氣和其他燃料用于發電；核電占日本總發電量的四分之一。另外，市場預計隨著日本開始從這場災難中復蘇，原本運往歐洲和世界其他地區的液化天然氣貨船可能會改道以滿足日本需求的增加。

????確實，震后天然氣現貨價格已經上漲。德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank ）稱，日益依賴進口天然氣的歐洲所受影響可能最大。分析師們預計，從歐洲轉移至日本的液化天然氣供應量可能達到每年50-120億立方米，從而推高歐洲天然氣中心的現貨價格。德意志銀行還指出，這可能導致歐洲天然氣市場變局。

????我們看到美國天然氣市場也有同樣的動向，美國天然氣期貨價格較日本大地震前一天水平已上漲約2.9%。但總部位于馬薩諸塞州的能源市場咨詢公司IHS Global Insight Cambridge Energy Research Associates的全球天然氣總監瑪麗?巴克拉認為，至少短期內，美國天然氣價格有望保持低廉。

????在談到天然氣時，不妨將美國和北美其他地區視為一個自成一體的島嶼。技術進步和頁巖氣開發創新已使該地區在天然氣生產上相對自足，基本上無需進口液化天然氣。事實上，總部位于香港的經紀和投資集團CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets提供的數據顯示，目前美國的進口量僅為10億立方英尺/天，不及其國內供應量的2%。

????另外，巴克拉指出，美國的天然氣供應明顯供過于求——在剛剛過去的這個冬天，有近3,000口鉆好的天然氣井沒有并網送氣。

????而且，美國看來不會出口這些過剩的天然氣供應，因為當地缺乏能將大量天然氣液化并輸送出口的基礎設施。CLSA表示，卡塔爾、馬來西亞、印尼和澳大利亞是最大的液化天然氣出口國，可能會完全填補日本出現的需求缺口。

????但長期來看，Pritchard Capital Partners駐休斯頓的分析師阿紐基?莎瑪認為，可能推高天然氣價格——乃至美國天然氣價格的一個不確定因素，是對核電審查力度的加大，這可能導致管制升級和成本上升。在日本竭力避免核災難發生的同時，很多政策制定者已開始質疑核電的安全性。例如，瑞士政府周一已正式擱置建設核電廠的計劃。在美國，康涅狄格州參議員約瑟夫?利伯曼呼吁，至少在核電安全性得到進一步明確前“放緩”新核電廠的建設。

????The price of natural gas has edged up since the earthquake and tsunami pushed some of Japan's nuclear reactors to the brink of meltdown. Some traders are betting that it will spur a bigger rally globally of natural gas prices, but that probably won't be the case in the U.S. as the domestic market already sits on a glut of the relatively cheap fuel used to power homes and buildings.

????Japan has shut down 11 nuclear reactors, and with several plants out of operation, it's widely expected that the East Asian island will need additional supplies of liquefied natural gas and other fuels to generate electricity. Nuclear power provides a quarter of Japan's electricity, and the expectations are that cargoes of LNG from Europe and other parts of the world will re-route to meet additional demands from Japan as it start recovering from the disaster.

????And indeed, spot prices have risen higher since the earthquake. Deutsche Bank says Europe is perhaps most vulnerable because it is increasingly dependent on imports of natural gas. Analysts predict from 5 billion to 12 billion cubic meters a year of LNG supplies could now be diverted away from Europe and into Japan, driving spot prices higher in the region's gas hubs. Deutsche added that it could be a "a game-change for the EU gas market."

????We've seen the momentum carry into the U.S. natural gas market, too, where futures for natural gas have climbed about 2.9% since the day before the earthquake. However, in the near-term at least, America's natural gas will likely remain cheap, says Mary Barcella, global gas director with IHS Global Insight Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a Massachusetts-based consulting company that specializes in energy markets.

????When it comes to natural gas, think of the U.S. and the rest of North America as an island of its own. Technological advances and the shale-gas revolution have made the region relatively self-sufficient in producing the fuel and virtually independent of LNG imports. In fact, the U.S. currently imports barely 1 billion cubic feet per day, accounting for less than 2% of domestic supply, according to CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, a Hong Kong-based brokerage and investment group.

????What's more, Barcella says, the U.S. already sits on a vast oversupply of the fuel – she points to the nearly 3,000 gas wells this past winter that have been drilled but have yet to be hooked up to the natural gas supply system.

????And it's not as if the U.S. would export the excess supply, since the country lacks the infrastructure to easily liquefy large amounts of the gas to sell abroad. Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia are the biggest LNG exports and will likely fill any void for Japan, CLSA says.

????In the long-term, however, the wild card that could send prices higher even in the U.S. is extra scrutiny of nuclear power that could result in more regulations and added costs, says Anuj Sharma, an analyst at Pritchard Capital Partners in Houston. As workers in Japan try to avert a nuclear disaster, many policymakers question nuclear safety. On Monday, for example, the Swiss government officially suspended plans to build nuclear plants. And in the U.S., Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut has called to "to slow things down" on new plants at least until safety is further explored.