A natural gas ETF was one of the few bright spots in the markets Friday, with natgas futures hovering back above $3, as traders anticipated increasing electricity demand to beat the summer heat.
On Friday, the United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSEArca: UNG) gained 1.7% and held steady above its long-term trend at the 200-day simple moving average as Nymex natural gas futures added 1.8% to $3.02 per million British thermal units.
Supporting the natural gas market, weather models late Thursday and early Friday forecasted more intense heat in the long range, even as it showed slightly cooler trends in the medium term, Natural Gas Intelligence reports.
According to EBW Analytics, weather patterns could stay warm until the second week of July and delay the arrival of cooler weather.
Thursday’s “trading action suggests that bulls are not ready to quit and will try to push prices higher. If current forecasts hold, however, natural gas prices are likely to starting moving lower again soon,” EBW said.