Natural gas will cost more this year, on average, than previously expected, government forecasters said Tuesday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said natural gas will average $4.74 per million British thermal units, up 6.8% from its forecast last month, as supplies are likely to stay tight. The country’s shale boom is encouraging power plants and industrial consumers to use more gas than expected, but the boom hasn’t produced as much supply as expected this year, the EIA said. The agency’s short-term forecast predicts the gas industry will need to produce more in November and December to catch up and match consumer demand of 72.3 billion cubic feet a day in 2014, up 0.22 billion cubic feet a day from last month’s forecast. Gas prices have been rising this spring as investors question whether even record production could match unrelenting demand. Forecasters now say average prices from April through […]