Open interest in natural gas futures markets rose for the fourth session in a row on Tuesday, now by around 1.8K contracts, according to advanced prints from CME Group. On the flip side, volume shrank by around 46.4K contracts, adding to Monday’s drop.

Natural Gas: Strong hurdle emerges around $5.00

Prices of natural gas somewhat reversed the ongoing rally on Tuesday. The downtick was in tandem with rising open interest, which favours further decline in the very near term, while the moderate drop in volume could slow the pace/extension of that potential move. Extra gains in natural gas, in the meantime, need to clear the $5.00 mark per MMBtu on a sustainable fashion.