Natural gas prices in the U.S. rose this month due to the December cold snap which affected many states and the higher-than-anticipated storage withdrawals in December. Other reasons that have been attributed to the price increase include declines in gas production and higher oil prices. After hitting a seven year low last September prices have been trending up. Extremely cold winter season this year may keep prices high as the demand picks up.

The following nine stocks in the natural gas sector yield dividends in excess of 6%:

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Some of the companies listed above are integrated firms with operations in gathering, compressing, treating, and transporting natural gas and other energy products. For example, Kinder Garden Energy Partners (KMP) owns and operates pipelines and storage facilities for crude oil, refined petroleum products and natural gas in the U.S. and Canada.