Natural gas futures higher for 2nd straight day on firm demand; moving averages stay positive

Natural gas futures surged for second successive day on October 26 as participants increased their long positions as seen by the open interest. The gas price had soared 2.93 percent yesterday on the NYMEX.

The energy commodity traded in the green but pared some gains in the afternoon session, tracking the firm global trend.

On the MCX, natural gas delivery for October jumped Rs 5, or 1.14 percent, to Rs 444.20 per mmBtu at 2.36 pm with a business turnover of 410 lots.

Gas delivery for November climbed by Rs 4.90, or 1.08 percent, to Rs 457.50 with a business volume of 5,807 lots.

The value of October and November contracts traded, so far, stood at Rs 86.95 crore and Rs 1,336.89 crore, respectively.

MCX Enrgdex dropped by 19 points or 0.29 percent at 6,631 at 2.39 pm. The index tracks the real-time performance of MCX Crude Oil and MCX Natural Gas futures.

“Natural gas price jumped 11% on Monday, owing to NOAA’s prediction of La Nina conditions, which will result in a ridge trough pattern. The southwest should be warmer than usual, while the northeast and mid-west should be cooler than normal. Natural gas prices are on the verge of testing new highs. Near the October highs of$6.69, resistance can be seen,” said Kshitij Purohit, Product Manager, Currency & Commodities, CapitalVia Global Research Limited.

Also read: Natural gas futures climb over 6% on firm global trend, analysts say adopt buy on dips strategy

The forecast of colder weather in the first week of November sparked fund-buying with rising US gas exports after data showed that export from US LNG terminals was 11.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) on Monday, up by more than 10 percent since Friday and highest in 5 months, said Motilal Oswal.

Technicals

The commodity has been trading higher than 5, 20, 50, 100, and 200-day simple and exponential moving averages on the daily chart. The momentum indicator Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 64.13, which suggests a bullishness in price.

“Choppy with mild positive bias expected as long as the support of Rs 418 remains undisturbed. Major support is seen at Rs 348”, said Geojit Financial Services.

At 9.23 am GMT, the natural gas price rose 0.76 percent to $6.10 per mmBtu in New York.

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