Helium Rises to Highest Since 1995 in Fallout From Shale Boom
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Helium prices in the U.S., the world’s biggest producer, are trading at the highest level since at least 1995 as the shale boom exacerbates a shortage of the gas used in everything from semiconductors to medical equipment.
Private buyers paid an average $6.13 a cubic meter in the 12 months through September, up 6.2 percent from the previous year, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a report on its website yesterday. U.S. helium output from natural gas declined 6.3 percent from four years earlier to 75 million cubic meters, according to the report. World production slid 1.1 percent.