Natural gas futures rise nearly 1% to Rs 202.20 per mmBtu ahead of inventory report

Natural gas futures rose to Rs 202.20 per mmBtu on January 14. Natural gas price had declined 0.9 percent yesterday on the NYMEX.

Natural gas has been facing stiff resistance crossing $2.8/mmBtu mark and turned choppy around that level.

Market participants will take a cue from the weekly inventory data released by US Energy Information Agency later in the day.

Kshitij Purohit, Product Manager, Currency & Commodities, CapitalVia Global Research Limited said, “Natural gas gave gap down opening and traded lower yesterday despite forecasts calling for a polar vortex, the cold wave coming from Canada and covering most of the continental United States in late January.”

“Natural gas is trading near 50-day SMA which is placed at Rs 201.70 levels with support lies at Rs 197-192 wheres resistance is at Rs 204-208 levels,” he said.

MCX iCOMDEX Natural Gas Index was up 24.66 points, or 1 percent to 2,493.83.

In the futures market, natural gas for January delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 203.70 and an intraday low of Rs 200.40 per mmBtu on MCX. So far in the current series, natural gas has touched a low of Rs 167.40 and a high of Rs 255.90.

Natural gas delivery for January soared Rs 1.90, or 0.95 percent, to Rs 202.20 per mmBtu at 14:32 hours IST with a business turnover of 8,415 lots.

Natural gas delivery for February gained Rs 2, or 1.01 percent, to Rs 200 per mmBtu with a business volume of 2,284 lots.

The value of January and February’s contracts traded so far is Rs 1,132.00 crore and Rs 50.06 crore, respectively.

Natural gas may remain supported by increased export demand and cold weather expectations however we need a close above $2.8/mmBtu level for extended gains, said Kotak Securities.

At 09:04 (GMT), the natural gas price surged 1.54 percent quoting at $2.76 per mmBtu in New York.

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