Crude oil gets all the headlines, but there's another fossil fuel that's had an even more impressive run this year.

Natural gas has surged 55 per cent in 2008, topping the 29-per-cent rise in crude. And it could go higher still, especially if the summer brings scorching temperatures that prompt homeowners to crank up their air conditioners or hurricanes that knock out gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.


“At this point, I don't see any real end in sight. For now, it looks like steady-as-she-goes higher,” said Peter Beutel, president of Cameron Hanover, an energy consulting firm in New Canaan, Conn.