Natural Gas Futures: Upside seem contained near term

According to advanced prints from CME Group for natural gas futures markets, open interest shrank by around 7.4K contracts after two daily builds in a row. In the same line, volume dropped by around 132.1K contracts, extending the choppiness seen as of late.

Natural Gas now targets the YTD highs

Prices of natural gas extended the bounce off the $4.70 area last Friday against the backdrop of shrinking open interest and volume. That said, extra gains appear unlikely in the very near term. This view is supported by the commodity approaching the overbought territory, as per the daily RSI. In the longer run, natural gas is expected to re-visit the 2021 tops above $5.60 per MMBtu.