Natural gas prices are climbing as President Obama pushes to find more ways for the country to use it. Obama wants to cut oil imports by a third over the next decade, and he says the U.S. could rely more on natural gas and biofuels to make that happen.

The natural gas contract for May delivery gained 9 cents, more than 2 percent, to $4.356 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Natural gas prices remain around the same range they've been in for three years as the recession and a surge in domestic production kept prices in check. Oil prices, which the U.S. imports primarily from Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, has jumped in that period, growing 27 percent in last 12 months alone.