The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that North American natural gas prices continued their downward slide this week, in spite of frigid weather gripping much of the continent. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post reports that even as furnaces blazed in homes and businesses across the U.S. and Canada over the last week, the U.S. natural gas benchmark Henry Hub fell 6 per cent, trading Friday at about $2.53 per million British thermal units, or MMBTU (all figures U.S.). It is a continuation of last year's downward trend. U.S. natural gas prices averaged $2.57 per MMBTU in 2023, about 62 per cent below the 2022 average annual price. GLJ analyst Leonard Herchen said weather is the single biggest driver of natural gas prices, as demand for the commodity is driven by heating needs. He said while it may not feel like it this week, most of the fall and winter so far has been unusually mild. Last year was also a warm winter across most of North America, leading to reduced consumption and less demand. That combined with record high natural gas production drove prices lower and also contributed to rising amounts of natural gas inventories in storage, said the U.S. Energy Information Administration.