U.S. natural gas prices are nearly flat on Friday with speculators hoping for a repeat performance of yesterday’s 3% gains. Thursday’s sharply higher close was fueled by a jump in European natural gas prices to a 3-year high. The sympathy spike in April natural gas futures was in reaction to an attack on Qatar’s natural gas export plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City. While the short-term impact on U.S. natural gas prices is subdued when compared to the movement in European prices, the longer-term view is more bullish given that the damage to the Qatar facility may take more than three years to repair.