Open interest in natural gas futures markets extended the downtrend for the fifth consecutive session on Tuesday, now by around 10.8K contracts according to advanced figures from CME Group. Volume followed suit and dropped for the third straight session, this time by around 7.1K contracts.

Natural Gas faces resistance at the 200-day SMA

Prices of natural gas extended the recovery for yet another session on Tuesday. However, shrinking open interest and volume signal the presence of short covering behind the move. That said, the upside momentum in the commodity could struggle around the key 200-day SMA, today at $4.11 per MMBtu.