Natural gas futures trade firm at Rs 247.10 per mmBtu on October 30 as participants increased their long positions as seen by the open interest. Natural gas price had gained 0.3 percent yesterday on the NYMEX.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US natural gas inventories rose by 29 billion cubic feet (bcf) for the week ended October 23.
Natural gas prices have been supported by the disruption caused by Hurricane Zeta and increasing LNG demand. However, weighing on the price is persistent weakness in crude oil price and concerns about the health of the US economy amid rising coronavirus cases and election uncertainty.
According to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, approximately 57.6 percent of Gulf of Mexico gas production facilities were shut as of October 29 as against 44.5 percent a day earlier.
However, natural gas prices were supported by the disruption caused by Hurricane Zeta in the Gulf of Mexico, increased heating demand and higher LNG exports.
In the futures market, natural gas for November delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 249.60 and an intraday low of Rs 246.30 per mmBtu on MCX. So far in the current series, natural gas has touched a low of Rs 222 and a high of Rs 249.60.
Natural gas delivery for November gained Rs 0.50, or 0.20 percent, to Rs 247.10 per mmBtu at 14:27 hours IST with a business turnover of 13,744 lots.
Natural gas delivery for December edged up Rs 0.60, or 0.23 percent, to Rs 256.40 per mmBtu with a business volume of 1,592 lots.
The value of November and December’s contracts traded so far is Rs 1,260.86 crore and Rs 33.18 crore, respectively.
The general outlook is still positive however we may see choppy trade as market players assess both demand and supply impact of the storm activity, said Kotak Securities.
At 09:00 (GMT), the natural gas price was up 0.21 percent quoting at $3.30 per mmBtu in New York.
For all commodities related news, click here
