Natural gas futures up 1.22% ahead of EIA weekly report

Natural gas futures rose to Rs 165.70 per mmBtu on August 6 as participants increased their long position as seen by the open interest. Natural gas price slipped 0.1 percent yesterday on NYMEX.

Market participants will take a further cue from US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly gas report scheduled to be released later today.

In the futures market, natural gas for August delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 168.10 and an intraday low of Rs 163.70 per mmBtu on MCX. So far in the current series, natural gas has touched a low of Rs 121.40 and a high of Rs 169.90.

Natural gas delivery for August gained Rs 2, or 1.22 percent, to Rs 165.70 per mmBtu at 14:49 hours IST with a business turnover of 7,465 lots.

Natural gas delivery for September jumped Rs 2.20, or 1.26 percent at Rs 176.60 per mmBtu with a business volume of 1,346 lots.

The value of August and September contracts traded so far is Rs 490.85 crore and Rs 16.70 crore, respectively.

Natural gas continues to hold above $2/mmBtu levels and overall momentum look positive; however, we may see some profit taking unless there is a surprise reading in the inventory report, said Kotak Securities.

At 09:21 (GMT), the natural gas price was up 0.78 percent quoting at $2.20 per mmBtu in New York.

For all commodities-related news,  click here