Natural gas futures traded firm on June 3 as the market players await EIA weekly inventory report later in the day. The gas price had declined 0.9 percent yesterday on the NYMEX.
On the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX), natural gas delivery for June gained by Rs 1, or 0.45 percent, to Rs 224.20 per mmBtu at 14:29 hours IST with a business turnover of 16,164 lots.
Natural gas delivery for July rose Rs 1, or 0.44 percent, to Rs 226.40 per mmBtu with a business volume of 2,374 lots.
The value of June and July’s contracts traded so far is Rs 432.98 crore and Rs 21.95 crore, respectively.
MCX iCOMDEX Natural Gas Index was up 13.50 points or 0.49 percent to 2,751.43.
Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities said, "International natural gas futures have started flat this Thursday morning and turn red in the early afternoon in Asian trade. Technically, NYMEX Natural gas could trade in a range of $2.98-$3.20 levels.”
Technically, MCX Natural gas could see a sideways to marginal upside momentum in coming session where Rs 227-Rs 229 levels will hold resistance and support is at Rs 221-Rs 219 levels”, Iyer noted.
According to Energy Information Administration, US natural gas production topped 92 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day.
The gas prices were supported by warm weather in parts of the United States thus increasing cooling demand.
US EIA weekly report is expected to note a 95 Bcf rise in US gas stocks as against a five-year average increase of 96 Bcf for this time of the year.
Natural gas may remain sideways ahead of inventory; however, price may resume its upward momentum if the stock buildup is in line with or less than expectations, said Kotak Securities.
Technicals
The commodity has been trading higher than 5, 20, 50, 100 and 200 days' simple moving averages and exponential moving averages on a daily chart. The momentum indicator Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 58.01, which suggests positive movement in the price.
At 09:12 (GMT), the natural gas price was mildly down 0.20 percent to quote at $3.06 per mmBtu in New York.
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