Natural Gas Price News: XNG/USD renews three-week low near $2.17 on supply concerns
- Natural Gas price drops for the fifth consecutive day despite softer US Dollar.
- Record US LNG output, resumption of Yamal-Europe pipeline propel oversupply woes.
- India’s ban on new coal plants fail to lift XNG/USD price amid recession woes.
Natural Gas Price (XNG/USD) remains depressed around $2.17, printing a five-day downtrend near the lowest levels in three weeks, as market players await the key US employment report on Friday. In doing so, the energy instrument bears the burden of the fears of oversupply, as well as recession.
A record Natural Gas output in the US joins the resumption of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline to propel the oversupply fears. “Last week's increase boosted stockpiles to 2.063 trillion cubic feet (tcf), or 19.8% above the five-year average of 1.722 tcf for the time of year,” said Reuters.
On the same line is the news, shared via Reuters, mentioning that Estward natural gas flows on the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Poland from Germany resumed on Friday, data from operator Gascade showed.
Meanwhile, India’s amendment to power policy, with plans to stop building new coal-fired power plants, suggests higher XNG/USD demand from the Asian major, which in turn probes the Natural Gas price amid a softer US Dollar.
That said, the US Dollar Index (DXY) retreats to 101.30, fading the previous day’s corrective bounce off a one-week low, as markets remain convinced of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy pivot after recently mixed US data and Fed meeting. Apart from the dovish Fed, US banking sector woes join looming default fears to challenge the market sentiment and renew recession concerns especially after major central banks hiked benchmark rates of late.
Looking forward, United States employment data for April will be crucial for the XNG/USD traders to watch for clear directions.
Technical analysis
A one-week-old descending resistance line, currently around $2.20, restricts the short-term upside of the Natural Gas Price. However, a downward-sloping support line from late February 2023, close to $2.12 at the latest, appears a tough nut to crack for the XNG/USD bears amid nearly oversold RSI conditions.