Natural Gas flat with markets stuck as long Europe and China do not step up consumption of LNG

• Natural Gas holds ground above $2.13 and moves away from lower support.
• Markets see Europe well-equipped for the next heating season, while New Zealand faces issues ahead. 
• The US Dollar index recovers slightly ahead of Nvidia’s earnings.

Natural Gas (XNG/USD) trades broadly stable on Wednesday, with prices remaining in the range between $2.13 and $2.36 for most of August. Demand still looks bleak, with Europe and China needing less Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), while New Zealand has decided to remove regulatory hurdles to import LNG and reverse a ban on offshore exploration projects to solve its energy crisis. 

Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, is still trying to recover from one of its worst weeks in nearly a year. The US Dollar appears to have found some support and sees some mild inflows on the back of nervousness ahead of Nvidia (NVDA) earnings after the US closing bell. Any underperformance of the tech giant could spark a sell-off in equities, further supporting the US Dollar.  

Natural Gas is trading at $2.19 per MMBtu at the time of writing.  

Natural Gas news and market movers: Markets at ease 

• Bloomberg reports that Norwegian Gas exports to Europe are at a two-month low. The main reason for the drop in supply is seasonal maintenance in Norway. 
• Reuters reports from Australia that Inpex has canceled at least four LNG shipments scheduled for next month from its Ichthys facility due to an ongoing outage.
• Reuters reports that New Zealand’s government vowed to lift a six-year-old ban on the issue of Oil and Gas exploration permits and wants to fast-track an LNG import project. The country has been facing serious energy disruptions in recent months.
• Recent retaliations and now the introduction of a new ballistic missile for Ukraine could mean that Russian President Vladimir Putin could even consider completely cutting off Europe from its gas supply. 

Natural Gas Technical Analysis: Big consumers are not consuming as they used to

Natural Gas prices have eased after a volatile summer. With a ceasefire deal on the table in Gaza, European Gas storage levels above 90%, and sluggish demand from China, not many catalysts exist for prices to surge. It looks like Gas prices will be stuck in this sideways action for some time until a new catalyst comes in to shake things up. 

Should more bullish headlines emerge, moving averages are the first upside resistances. First, the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the 55-day SMA, near $2.30 and $2.36, respectively, would already represent significant moves higher. Further up, the 100-day SMA at $2.41 could be tested. 

On the downside, pressure is building on $2.13 to a breakdown. In case this level snaps, $2.00 comes back into play for a test. Although still far away, a dip under $2.00 could mean a test of the August low at $1.93. 

Natural Gas: Daily Chart

(This story was corrected on August 28 at 11:45 GMT to say that New Zealand will pass a law that will clear regulatory hurdles to import liquefied Natural Gas, not remove a ban on LNG imports. The ban to be removed is on offshore Oil and Gas exploration.)