Natural gas spiked to a new trend high of $5.50 Friday, clearing both the 200% channel extension and the 61.8% Fibonacci at $5.28 while confirming the long-term breakout above $4.90 with the highest weekly close since early-December 2022.
Natural gas blasted to a fresh trend high of $5.50 Friday—its highest level since late-December 2022—before a late intraday pullback trimmed gains and reflected fading short-term momentum. The move decisively broke above the 200% extended channel line and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement at $5.28, stopping just shy of the 127.2% extension at $5.52 that measures the bearish correction from the March high.
At writing, natural gas remains on pace for the highest weekly closing price since early-December 2022 and a confirmed long-term breakout above the pivotal $4.90 level (prior trend high). These higher-timeframe validations underscore powerful underlying bullish momentum even as short-term exhaustion signals grow louder.
Friday’s peak completed a $2.87 rally (109.6%) from August’s $2.62 low and a 90% advance from October’s higher swing low at $2.89. Price has also popped clearly outside the upper Bollinger Band (not shown on chart) and looks set to close there—an overbought condition that often precedes at least a temporary pause if not a pullback.
Friday’s higher daily low of $5.03 now marks immediate support; a drop below it would signal a deeper pullback. The rising 10-day average at $4.82 provides the first meaningful dynamic defense—briefly breached during the last correction before a swift recovery—and the 20-day average below carries even greater significance after its successful test triggered the current leg higher.
A decisive push above Friday’s $5.50 high targets the 50% retracement of a prior major downswing at $5.78 and keeps the bull trend fully intact.
Natural gas has delivered textbook breakout behavior across every timeframe, but the extreme vertical move and overbought readings sharply elevate near-term pullback or consolidation risk. Hold the 10-day and especially the 20-day averages on any retreat and the larger uptrend stays dominant with $5.78 next in line; only a sustained break below the 20-day would raise legitimate caution.
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With over 20 years of experience in financial markets, Bruce is a seasoned finance MBA and CMT® charter holder. Having worked as head of trading strategy at hedge funds and a corporate advisor for trading firms, Bruce shares his expertise in futures to retail investors, providing actionable insights through both technical and fundamental analyses.