Category: Weekly Detail

Expect Further Declines

Weekly Continuous

The collapse continued last week as prices extended the declines though some support trend lines and previous month lows. The violated trend line now becomes ascending resistance, as the dominant near term technical factor. Given soon to expire September’s weakness into the week’s close the trend line is likely to contain any near term short covering rally as well as any early sponsorship for October (which closed at $2.800, $.122 premium to September and also below the coming week’s value of the trend line). Given the violations of trend line support during the last two weeks and prompt gas entering the seasonally weak period during the coming week (Labor Day falls on September 1st this year), the upside prospects for the expiring contract and new prompt October seem low.

Historically, the days leading into and following Labor Day has been one of the most consistently price negative periods all year. Since I first noticed the tendency, declines were and continued to be consistently in double digits. When they weren’t (which was rare) I learned from history, that when the markets that fail to decline when they are supposed to (based on historical norms) are likely going to go up and less than average declines tend to precede robust Q4/Q1 rallies. In ’23 the decline was 12.5%. The entire Q4 rally was a little more than a dollar counting the premiums awarded to the November and December contracts. The Q4 peaked on 10/31/31 at $3.630, 70% higher than the pre Labor Day low. A year ago the Labor Day decline was short and measured only 7.4%. During the period that immediately followed (about three weeks) prompts October and November rallied $.894. You might remember that the rally that began from the pre Labor Day low was not exhausted until early March with the prompt price 164% higher.

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Not Sure if Q3 Low Is In

Weekly Continuous

September plunged through the conventional support zone and closed below both on Tuesday with a significant increase in volume, oddly though the prompt recovered. The extension of the decline to close at $2.808, the lowest daily close since November 14th, below definable support with the highest volume since 07/23 had the earmarks of a decline that would be extended lower– Huh – volume, although still higher than average began to dry up, and the ranges traded during the two days following the new low close were less than a dime. The restricted ranges and the closes near the highs were clear suggestions that the enthusiasm of Tuesday’s sellers had, substantially diminished.

There is still a lot of negative seasonality ahead, including the period bracketing Labor Day that will be the primary focus of the next Week’s, but a weekly reversal (the close for the week was higher than the open after trading a lower low) with increased volume, to hold the trend line feels like a rejection of lower prices. The determining factor will be whether the trend line declining from the June and July highs (currently $2.980) continues to guide prompt gas lower or a will it be violated and trigger a short covering rally to test some of the plentiful resistance between $3.20 and $3.50.

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Likely To Be Important Week for Bias

Weekly Continuous

Rather than my expected recovery (prompt gas typically rallies from a late July/early August low) September continued to find substantial selling between $3.100 and $3.150 (the highs of the last seven trading days have been within that zone and with the exception of a downside reversal day on 7/30 ($3.186) since 07/24. Fading from that band of resistance September traded through the calendar July low ( not particularly unusual, it has now done so in 14 of the last 20 years), but then posted the lowest daily closing price since last November ($2.823, 11/15).

The recovery from Monday’s low of $2.895 (the lowest low since prompt May was about to go to settlement) left the first suggestion of a momentum divergence that we’ve seen during the decline from the June Q2 high. A reversal from the high of that recovery (08/07, $3.148) suggests that September has not yet developed the sponsorship for the expected seasonal “correction”.

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A Market Needing Stimulus

Weekly Continuation

August extended its decline, trading just through $3 before going off the board at $3.081, the lowest contract month settlement since November ’24 at $2.437. To close out calendar July, new prompt September undercut the pre-expiration low by a penny before reversing higher. On a continuation basis prompt gas closed lower for the fifth time over the six weeks. While the open and close numbers are not exact, prompt gas ended the week near where it began when trading resumed ($3.083 v $3.093). That’s close to but not a textbook doji, but it is close. This pattern can suggest some measure of exhaustion for the downtrend that has now extended $1.176 or 28.4% from the 06/20 failed test of the April high. While the downtrend may be temporarily exhausted seasonal pressure almost certainly isn’t.

An early August rally is typical of September’s tenure as prompt followed by a fade into expiration. In ’24 September peaked on 08/15 at $2.301 after rallying from a post – August expiration low of $1.882 then retreated to exactly test the July low of $1.856 (hard to believe that the July and August lows were identical) before recovering to go off the board at $1.930. That rare, perfect “double bottom” has never been retested. Do not expect history to repeat itself but a similar pattern with different levels may occur.

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Going To Keep Testing Lows

Weekly Continuous

The weight of the seasonal pressure that has been discussed and warned about since before the rally to the June Q2 high, fell on soon to expire August. A year ago, the seasonal descent was more orderly after the June Q2 ’24 high (week ending 06/14) prompt gas declined for six of seven weeks (falling from $3.159 to $1.856, or 41.2%). At the time the weekly ATR was .324. By the time a rally began to gain momentum, following an August test of the July low, the ATR had fallen to .268.

This is another example in natural gas that history does not repeat itself, but some times it rhymes. Since the June ’25 Q2 high (week ending 06/20, a few days after the anniversary of the high) the decline has been far more erratic. Just last week August closed at its highs gaining $.125(and was well – bid in the aftermarket. Volatility, still elevated by historic standards, is $.466/dt/week (+/- 40% higher).

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Trade Looks to the Low Side of August Range

Weekly Continuous

This week’s report is going to be short as I am taking my dog to the emergency vet service. Over the history of August contracts there have been a few that the late summer contract rallied for most of its tenure and was bid into expiration, ‘21 and ’22 are the most recent examples. In both of those years prompt gas set a calendar August high before falling. There have been a few that steadily weakened, ’17 and ’18 are examples. In both of those years prompt gas made a late July/early August low before a significant rally.

More often than not, August follows a pattern of trading a post – 4th low, a mid – July high followed by weakening to a low either side of 7/23 – 7/25.Look for August ’25 is conforming to that seasonal pattern. The 07/09 undercut of the June low ($3.199 on 06/26 ) was on far and away highest volume traded since then.

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Expectations Met

Weekly Continuous

I wrote last week —The expectation was the decline to occur on either 07/07 or 08. Instead, August fell $.458 (12.2%) on 06/30 and 07/01…closing the gap and trading just through the low of the first targeted support band ($3.300 – $3.350). Well the declines continued to July 9th and promptly met the expectations for the size of the declines (in fact exceeded them). Once the low was set, prices bounced and returned to with in the range for the July contract and now seemingly the August contract. Folks, this market seems to being going nowhere and at a slow pace.

Understanding the frustration of many of you (for volatility– myself included) but my ideas are to highlight what I see the market is trying to accomplish and clue you in advance of the movement– unfortunately this market is showing no movement beyond the range each successive contract trades within. There may be an occasional lapse in Daily diatribes during these periods.

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Seasonal Declines Per History

Weekly Continuous

Price action conformed to the historical norms (for the most part) though, last week, I Thought that a 14% decline would more than close the 06/27 gap and test well defined conventional support. The expectation was the decline to occur on either 07/07 or 08. Instead, August fell $.458 (12.2%) on 06/30 and 07/01…closing the gap and trading just through the low of the first targeted support band ($3.300 – $3.350).

It is not unprecedented for a low to trade before the holiday trading break. In ’19 a low was traded on 07/01 before a rally to a mid – July high. In ’13 before a similar rally but there was a minor decline from an 07/03 high to a 07/05 low ($3.700 to $3.577). Both of those pre – holiday lows were later substantially violated during the initial days of the tenure of prompt September.

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Seasonal Weakness Approaches

Weekly Continuation

The market is approaching one of the most consistently price negative periods all year. For those that care about such things, I can provide a schedule Larry Marshall has maintained since 1995 if you need to see it. The declines bracketing Independence Day which shows a quantifiable decline usually from a mid/late June high to many times a just post – holiday low. While some of the declines are negligible (just 6.2% in ’19) and some are dramatic (35.7% in ’08) the 3, 5, 10 and 20 – year averages are pretty consistent, 14.1%, 13.7%, 13.5% and 16.4%. The 3 – year average 14.10%, the 5 – year average is 13.68%, and the10 – year average 13.47%. Refresh your memory in 2024 the June pre-holiday high at $3.159 to the early July low at $2.249– before extending the declines through July to early August– setting the low of $1.882. Looking at last week’s rally as the pre-holiday high at $4.148 a similar decline to the historical averages would indicate a $.58ish decline around or after the holiday.

Not sure how the mid-east issues will impact gas prices as the crude prices will be well bid going into the week. Think it would be prudent to sit on the sidelines until the response from Iran gets defined.

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Stalled

Weekly Continuous

What can you say after another week with little or no movement beyond the ranges established. Will note that a higher high than the previous week is a bullish signal but the failure afterward was mitigating. From a technical stand point — nothing to really add or try to embellish from my recent comments. Sell the premium until the market decides on a bias.

Major Support: $3.054-$3.007, $2.97, $2.727, $2.648,
Minor Support :$3.46, $3.30-$3.26
Major Resistance: $3.628, $3.86, $4.168, $4.461, $4.501

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