March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian natural-gas prices may rise for a second day as cold weather continues to grip the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, the two biggest consuming regions for Canada's gas exports.

Temperatures in the Northeast will be as much as 8 degrees Fahrenheit (5 Celsius) below normal through March 6 and remain colder than normal through March 16, according to Rockville, Maryland-based Earth Satellite Corp.

``Cold weather has overwhelmed the Northeast and it does not appear that it will be leaving anytime soon,'' State College, Pennsylvania-based Accuweather Inc. said in a forecast. ``Persistent cold is foreseen into next week.''

Spot gas at EnCana Corp.'s AECO C hub in Alberta, the nation's largest trading point, gained 10 cents to C$6.82 per gigajoule ($5.80 per million British thermal units) yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

On Calgary-based Natural Gas Exchange Inc.'s NGX electronic energy market, spot gas at AECO rose 17.5 cents, or 2.8 percent, to C$6.965 per gigajoule.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gene Laverty in Calgary at glaverty@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 3, 2005 06:34 EST