Natural Gas steady while New Zealand lifts LNG import ban

• Natural Gas steadies above $2.13 and holds support
• Markets see Europe gearing up for the next heating season while New Zealand faces issues ahead. 
• The US Dollar index sees mild inflow on the back of risk-off nervousness ahead of Nvidia.

Natural Gas is trading at $2.17 per MMBtu at the time of writing.  Natural Gas prices (XNG/USD) remain in the clear range between $2.13 and $2.36 for most of August. Demand still looks bleak, with Europe and China having less demand for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). Meanwhile, New Zealand is quickly lifting an LNG import ban and speeding up LNG projects to solve the current 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 last week. The US Dollar looks to have some support and even see some mild inflow again on the back of some nervousness ahead of Nvidia earnings later this Wednesday after the US closing bell. Any underperformance of the tech giant could spark a sell-off in equities and could see more US Dollar inflow.  

Natural Gas is trading at $2.17 per MMBtu at the time of writing.  

Natural Gas news and market movers: New Zealand’s energy issues

• 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: Not much moving the needle 

Natural Gas prices have eased after a rather volatile summer. With a ceasefire deal on the table for the Gaza region and Israel, combined European gas storage levels above 90% and sluggish demand in China, not many catalysts exist for gas prices to substantially 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 and pull the Gas price higher, look ahead for moving averages as upside resistances. First, the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the 55-day SMA near $2.30 and $2.36 would already be 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 again. In case that level snaps, $2.00 comes back into play for a test and possible dip below. Although still far away, a return of sub-$2.00 could mean a test at the low of August, with $1.93 in the cards. 

Natural Gas: Daily Chart