Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Edge Higher Following Inventory Report

Natural gas edged higher following a larger than expected draw reported on Thursday by the Department of Energy. The weather is expected to be cooler than normal on the east coast for the next 2-weeks while the weather is expected to be warmer than normal throughout most of the west coast.

Technical Analysis

Natural Gas prices edged higher on Thursday pushing through resistance near a downward sloping trend line that comes in near 2.69. Support is seen near the December lows at 2.40. Medium-term momentum has turned positive as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) index generated a crossover buy signal. The MACD histogram is printing in positive territory with an upward sloping trajectory which points to higher prices.

Inventories Fall More than Expected

According to the EIA, natural gas in storage was 3,726 Bcf as of Friday, December 11, 2020. This represents a net decrease of 122 Bcf from the previous week. Expectations were for a 107 Bcf draw according to survey provider Estimize. Stocks were 284 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 243 Bcf above the five-year average of 3,483 Bcf. At 3,726 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.