Surge in Natural-Gas Price Stoked by New Global Trade

Americans feeling the pain of record gasoline prices now face the likelihood of another fuel shock, from natural gas.

Prices in the U.S. have risen 93% since late August as power-hungry nations like South Korea and Japan compete in a global natural-gas market that scarcely existed a half-decade ago. Still, U.S. prices are as low as half the level of some overseas markets, suggesting they have much further to rise.

The global appetite for natural gas has profound implications for a U.S. economy already tipping toward recession and struggling against inflation pressures. The fuel heats half of U.S. homes, generates ...