PALM BEACH, Florida, May 30, 2018 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — PALM BEACH, Florida, May 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ —
Marketnewsupdates.com News Commentary
The world’s helium supply shortage has the medical industry worried. Why do they care? The fact is, nearly a quarter of the world’s helium is used for cryogenics in MRI machines. The situation has gotten so bad that doctors have actually called for a ban on party balloons to save helium for life-saving purposes. This critical shortage has caused a helium price surge to all-time highs and has drawn investor attention to gas producers like American Helium Inc.(AHE) AHELF, -13.59% , Praxair Inc. PX, -3.45% Air Products & Chemicals Inc. APD, +0.98% , Gazprom PAO OGZPY, +0.17% and United State Natural Gas Fund LP (nsye:UNG).
Shortage Driving Up The Price Of Helium
Global demand for helium has risen by 10% per year over the past decade to an estimated 8 billion cubic feet. This far exceeds current supply which sits at only 5.4 billion cubic feet. This shortfall has placed an enormous strain on the price of helium, driving it up to an all-time high this year to $119 per thousand cubic feet. This represents an 11% increase over 2017. This trend is likely to continue into 2020, where the value of the helium market could exceed $1.5 billion. Read more…