The United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSEArca: UNG) is up another 2% Friday, a move that if it holds, will elevate UNG to a 30% year-to-date gain. That will be enough to easily keep UNG on the list of the 10 best non-leveraged ETFs to this point in 2014.
Earlier this week, natural gas futures shot above $6 for the first time in four years as another cold winter front moved across the U.S., bolstering natural gas prices. Traders are purchasing futures contracts to cover short positions in a so-called short squeeze after a bout of warmer weather pushed down gas futures, reports Jeanine Prezioso for Reuters. [Nat Gas ETFs Keep on Soaring]
At this writing UNG is flirting with $27.40, a price area the ETF has not seen since December 2011. On the brink of a 30% gain in less than two months, upside from here for UNG may appear limited, but the charts indicate the opposite is true.
UNG’s “price action has already cleared the highs of the last base at $24, and should close above that level by the end of February to confirm the breakout on the monthly chart,” notes Deron Wagner of Morpheus Trading Group.
Wagner points out that UNG should encounter resistance in the $32 to $35 area on its weekly chart and around $40 to $45 on its monthly chart. In either case, significant upside from current levels is possible for UNG.