Natural gas futures marginally dip after a sharp rise yesterday; trading above major averages

Natural gas futures price moderately lower on July 20 as participants raised their short bets as seen by the open interest. The gas price had soared 2.9 percent yesterday on the NYMEX.

The energy commodity recouped losses to trade in the red after a gap-down start, tracking the muted overseas trend.

On the MCX, natural gas delivery for July eased Rs 1.10, or 0.39 percent, to Rs 281.20 per mmBtu at 14:26 hours with a business turnover of 18,690 lots.

Gas delivery for August slipped Rs 1.10, or 0.39 percent, to Rs 279.70 per mmBtu with a business volume of 5,961 lots.

The value of July and August's contracts traded so far is Rs 642.73 crore and Rs 148.03 crore, respectively.

MCX iCOMDEX Natural Gas Index declined 12.22 points or 0.36 percent to 3,419.52.

Kshitij Purohit, Product Manager, Currency & Commodities, CapitalVia Global Research Limited said, “MCX Natural gas is trading with a marginally bullish trend along with the support of 15-SMA of hourly chart placed near Rs 279.50. Warmer than normal weather is expected to cover most of the West Coast and mid-West over the next 2 weeks.”

The gas prices were supported by strong export demand with gas flows to US LNG export terminals were 10.5 bcf, up 0.2 percent week on week.

However, weighing on price is a sign of improving production as the US gas rig count has jumped to March 2020 highs and concerns that higher prices may cause power generators to shift to coal.

Technicals

The commodity has been trading higher than 5, 20, 50, 100 and 200 days simple moving averages and exponential moving averages on the daily chart. The momentum indicator RSI is at 67.44, which suggests upbeat movement in the price.

Natural gas may continue to trade in a range amid a lack of fresh triggers however hopes of higher cooling demand may keep prices supported, said Kotak Securities.

At 09:09 GMT, the natural gas price was down 0.21 percent at $3.77 per mmBtu in New York.

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