North American natural gas prices continued to be pressured lower toward the $3.00/MMBtu mark this week as U.S. production remained strong amid warmer than usual temperatures.

mini

On Thursday, the February New York Mercantile Exchange contract declined 3.6 cents day/day and settled at $3.275/MMBtu. Gas for delivery in March managed a 1.3-cent gain to $3.124.

Mexico natural gas imports of U.S. pipeline gas, meanwhile, were 4.866 Bcf on Thursday, according to NGI calculations based on public pipeline data. These figures do not include intrastate trades in Texas, which aren’t public, likely downplaying export figures. According to U.S. Energy Information (EIA) data, Mexico imports were about 1 Bcf/d above the NGI estimate.

Still, overall imports into Mexico recently have been down...