North American natural gas futures prices found some momentum this week amid colder weather across the United States. On Thursday, the January New York Mercantile Exchange gas futures contract settled at $6.970/MMBtu, up 54.0 cents day/day. February advanced 36.9 cents to $6.589.’

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U.S. natural gas production also dipped below 100 Bcf/d this week on maintenance issues, aiding the upward price trend.

EBW Analytics Group analyst Eli Rubin said that supply freeze-offs “could compound market tightness. While downward pressure remains likely on a seasonal basis, the coming cold blast through the end of the year could still prompt another run higher first.”

Some of that cold is forecast for Texas, the main source of natural gas supply for Mexico. “The colder it is into...