In 2023, the famed investment banker and author Mather Simons said that by 2005, the US will get into a long-term natural gas crisis, for which prayer will be its only answer, with many other energy experts concurring with the sentiment at the time. 

ExxomMobil and other major corporations back then acquired many natural gas companies and expanded operations on wild bets that natural gas prices will surge later. 

By 2005, US natural gas production started to fall, with spot prices rising to over $10 per MMBtu. 

What happened later was unexpected.. natural gas producers were attempting to mix hydraulic fracking and horizontal digging, and their success changed everything.

By 2007, US natural gas production was trending incredibly higher, and it led to the biggest uptick in US natural gas production in its history.

A decade later, US natural production surged by 50% compared to 2007 levels, and today it's up by 86% and continues to trend higher, with the US now exporting Liquefied natural gas. 

The expanding natural gas business was so enormous that exports starting in 2016, which were still back them minute compared to Qatar and Australia. 

However, by December 2023, the US exported 91.2 million metric tonnes of LNG according to Bloomberg data, becoming world's top LNG exporter. 

It's once again the cutting-edge and innovative techniques used by US energy companies that broke the barriers, and we saw similar applications with shale oil in recent years. 

Palladium prices rose on Friday as the dollar settled against most major rivals, with demand outlook improving. 

Earlier US data showed core consumer prices, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.9% in December, slowing down from 4% in November, but still higher than expectations of 3.8%. 

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.3% in December, while core prices rose 0.3%. 

Such data casts doubts on potential Fed policy easing in upcoming months, as inflation remains far from the 2% target.

Otherwise, the dollar index stabilized at 102.2 as of 16:00 GMT, with a session-high at 102.5, and a low at 102.09. 

Otherwise, palladium futures due in March rose 0.1% to $984 an ounce. 

Dollar rose in European trade on Friday against a basket of major rivals on track for the first profit in three days as markets avoid risks due to growing geopolitician tensions. 

The gains come ahead of US producer prices data for December, which will provide important clues on the state of inflation and will inform future policies.

The Index

The dollar index rose 0.2% to 102.51, with a session-low at 102.17, after closing down 0.1% yesterday, the second loss in a row even as US consumer prices surpassed estimates in December. 

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mister said that recent inflation data shows it's too early to cut interest rates in March. 

Richmond Fed President Thomas Parkin said that consumer prices data didn't do much to clear up the path of inflation, as the December hike in prices was focused on commodities.

Now investors await US producer prices data for December to gather more clues about the likely path ahead for US monetary policy and interest rates. 

Silver prices rose in European trade on Friday for the first session in five days amid attempts to recover from two-month lows amid improving demand on safe havens.

Prices are also boosted by hopes of increasing actual demand in China after data showed Chinese exports rebounded in December in a sign of economic recovery. 

Silver Prices Today

Silver prices rose 1.4% to $23.06 an ounce, with a session-low at $22.75, after losing 0.6% on Thursday, the fourth loss in a row, plumbing a two-month trough at $22.48 an ounce following remarks by Fed officials. 

Haven Demand

Demand on safe havens such as gold and silver increased amid worsening geopolitical conditions in the Middle East, with the US and Britain launching air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The developments threaten of a widening of the front of the Israel-Gaza war as more regional and international powers step in the fray. 

Chinese Demand

Customs data from China showed exports rose by 2.3% in December, beating expectations of a 1.7% rise, and up from 0.5% in November.

It's another sign of improving performance by various economic sectors in China, which could bode well for precious metals demand.