Category: Weekly Detail

Weekly Continuous

For several weeks while the market rallied to higher and higher highs the consensus of technical indicators steadfastly refused to acknowledge the price ascent with positive agreement. The last two weeks the consensus is neutral but with a deteriorating price negative bias. Once thing that the decline accomplished was neutralizing the extreme condition of momentum indicators

Volume two weeks ago the high last (the fourth highest volume week of ’25, 3,674,237 contracts) increased significantly (3,972,672). That is nearly 300,000 contracts increase while prices fell indicates that cause is being built to go lower which was confirmed last week. Price may well fall further (especially around expiration). Fun info- volume during calendar November was less than in October while price was higher, which is a volume divergence. That anomaly indicates that the sponsorship for $5.50 – $6.00 gas did not exist yet.

Weekly Continuous

In the previous Weekly and Daily writings, the handwriting on the wall that prompt gas would trade a higher high, it was suggested that January’s previous highs +/-$4.95 – $5.05 were likely to present formidable resistance. The zone of resistance did limit January’s advance (for a a few days) but did so with increasing volume and open interest. Price, volume and open interest increasing in tandem indicated that the market was getting a running start at higher highs.

Once January broke through the resistance zone, volatility and the range traded expanded. On Friday the low was $5.027 the high $5.496 (creating the range of $.469). You have to go back a way to find the last time a prompt contract traded a wider range. On March 4th prompt April traded $.495 with 1,094,416 contracts changing hands. That March high that established a higher high with less volume. They may still be counting but Friday’s volume looks to be around 1,107,300

Weekly Continuous

New prompt January, the premium for which had diminished to $.061 (versus $.163 a week ago) reversed higher from a December expiration day low of $4.390 to trade the high for calendar November on the last trading day of the month. This was the second straight calendar month to do so. This week’s close was the highest continuation close since the Friday before Christmas in 2022 and the highest close for prompt January since mid – July (07/18, $4.850 v $4.870, the continuation close that day was $3.565, a timely illustration of how deferred month premium dissipates). 2,013,263 contracts traded that week in July, an estimated 2,218,448 during the past holiday shortened week, which suggests that the high traded during week ending 07/18 ($5.018) is likely to severely tested.

The consensus of technical indicators remains neutral but with an improving price positive bias. The improvement in the “bias” was attributable to an increase, in open interest, the first week over week increase since week ending 10/17 . The primary reason that the consensus steadfastly refuses to reach positive agreement is the severely overbought condition. The weekly RSI has remained well into its historical extreme zone for four weeks. That historically dependable mathematical extreme combined with prompt gas ending five straight weeks more than two standard deviations above the 20 – weeks SMA and is now 37% above the 40 – weeks SMA is not, adding significantly to length. Without a substantial retracement of gains from the October low be patient and seek a correction to add to positions.

I am traveling for the holiday and I can’t get access this afternoon for my charts so please be aware. I will try to update the charts today and publish them on the website. Due to some limitations, I doubt there will be a Daily on Wednesday continuing through the weekend.

Comments on the price movement last week and going forward through the expiration this week;

Weekly Continuous

The gains continued last week, the decline in open interest…indicating substantial short covering was a significant contributor to the rally, discussed in some detail last week, continued. Until an increase on Thursday, only the second daily increase since 10/16, the total number of contracts outstanding had fallen for ten straight days. Prompt gas closed higher on 13 of those 20 trading days and only once was there consecutive lower daily closes (three straight between 10/22 and 10/24).

The decline to Wednesday’s low total of contracts outstanding brings the reduction to 200,007 contracts (11.6%) while including a significant contribution from the premium of December over expired November ($.439) prompt gas has rallied, on a daily closing basis, from $2.938 to $4.533 ($1.595 or 54.3%). This represents an epic short covering rally.

Weekly Continuous

Last week’s gains extended the run that started with the premium afforded the December contract. Total open interest had increased substantially (86,824 contracts over five trading days) while November faded from a 10/08 high at $3.550 to a 10/16 low of $2.922, likely due to aggressive speculative short selling. In the recent weeks prompt gas has closed higher in 10 of 15 trading days with a notable contribution from December’s premium over expired November ($.439), has traded almost $1.50 higher.

December would fail at well – defined resistance provided by the trend line declining from its March – June highs and its declining 20 week SMA. It didn’t. A trend line and moving average violation like that is a serious technical positive. Mentioned it at times during Oct with the Nov contract, but did not occur. During the rally from that above referenced October low open interest has fallen from 1,721,787 contracts to 1,556,062…165,725 (through the 11/06 close, open interest statistics lag one day), 75,982 of that during the five days ending 11/06. Over the sixteen trading days since the peak of open interest the total has fallen in all but one day. To this analyst this is a great example of a short covering run in prices.

Weekly Continuous

Going to keep this abbreviated as I have other issues with higher priority. Clearly, looking at the chart above you expect commentary suggesting a reversal on the Weekly chart. Not so fast — nearly $.50 of that reversal was the premium afforded at expiration. It may prove out to be a reversal but need to witness after challenges to support. Continue to expect December to fail at resistance, specifically the trend line decline from its March and June highs and its 20 – weeks SMA, Expect December’s premium over expired November to diminish but also expect the new prompt to find substantial support between $3.60 and $3.75.

On more technical analysis expect that prompt gas has traded a higher continuation low…the September low higher than the August low, which is an essential characteristic of an emerging uptrend and the October low higher than the September low. Expect opportunities to buy support during calendar November but expect those opportunities to be fleeting.

Weekly Continuation

Some reversal earlier in the calendar month (from $3.585 on 10/02 that was confirmed by another reversal from $3.550 on 10/08 for a third time this week’s high was $3.572 and that’s a classic test of and failure at well – defined resistance looks like.

Volume on those three tests of $3.550 – $3.590 has been remarkably similar: 672,699 – 643,006 – 639,225…higher than any other of the trading days during November’s tenure except 10/20 on the gap day. Notwithstanding that a chunk of the 797,173 contracts traded was the result of some folks buying back contracts they had sold short, the gap and the volume spike strongly suggest a high volume low. When November traded into the 10/20 range and tested the 20 – week SMA, (currently the value of that moving average is $3.198, Friday’s low $3.200) it reversed higher, ending the week on a strong note.