Mexico natural gas prices in December hit their highest level in 22 months, averaging $3.64/MMBtu, according to the latest IPGN monthly natural gas price index published by the Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE).

IPGN Dec

CRE used 311 transactions reported by 30 marketers to calculate the December index, the highest number of companies ever to report transactions to the regulator.

Transacted gas volumes totaled 6.18 Bcf/d, up from 5.5 Bcf/d in the similar 2019 month.

Mexico prices tend to move in lockstep with U.S. prices, to which a majority of transactions in Mexico are linked. This is because of Mexico’s growing dependence on pipeline gas imports from its neighbor to the north.

The forecast for U.S. prices remains bullish for this year, according to the U.S. Energy...