Mumbai / May 24, 2021 / 15:35 IST
Natural gas futures edged lower on May 24 as the market participants rolled over their short position as seen by the open interest. The gas price had gained 0.56 percent last week on the MCX.On the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX), natural gas delivery for May fell by Rs 3.80, or 1.79 percent, to Rs 208.60 per mmBtu at 14:45 hours IST with a business turnover of 4,868 lots.Natural gas delivery for June dropped Rs 3.70, or 1.74 percent, to Rs 214.10 per mmBtu with a business volume of 11,619 lots.The value of May and June’s contracts traded so far is Rs 166.16 crore and Rs 375.67 crore, respectively.MCX iCOMDEX Natural Gas Index tumbled 45.39 points or 1.79 percent to 2,627.53.Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said, “International natural gas futures are trading lower in the early afternoon in Asian trade. Technically, NYMEX Natural Gas could trade in a range of $2.85-3.05 levels.”On the MCX, Natural Gas May could see a sideways to marginal downside momentum in coming session where Rs 219-221 levels will hold resistance and support is at Rs 216-Rs 214 levels,” Iyer added.Also read: MCX natural gas jumps 0.56% to Rs 217.60/mmBtu; prices may see sideways to marginal downside momentum
The number of rigs drilling natural gas in the US fell by 1 to 99 rigs for the week to May 21, said Baker Hughes in its weekly report.As per National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the weather is expected to be warmer than normal for most of the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic for the next 6-10 and 8-14 days. This warmer climate could increase cooling demand and capped downside.According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended May 18, net shorts for natural gas increased by 3,256 contracts to 68,752.“The gas price has formed a Falling channel pattern on the hourly chart and likely to continue within a channel in today’s session, sustaining below the resistance of 15-SMA of hourly chart placed near Rs 211.40”, said Kshitij Purohit, Product Manager, Currency and Commodities, CapitalVia Global Research LimitedTechnicalsThe commodity has been trading higher than 50, 100 and 200 days' moving averages but lower than the 5 and 20 days’ moving averages on a daily chart. The momentum indicator Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 51.05, which indicates a sideways movement in the price.At 09:40 (GMT), the natural gas price was down 1.58 percent quoting at $2.93 per mmBtu in New York.For all commodities-related news, click here
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