Natural Gas breaks higher as Australian strikes shut down LNG ports

• Natural Gas jumps as overnight headlines point to failed talks between Chevron and union workers in Australia.
• The US Dollar is set to close in weekly gain, making it nearly its best week for 2023.
• Natural gas price could extend the risk rally and hit $2.95. 

Natural Gas prices are heading higher as overnight talks between Chevron Australia and local union workers broke down. Strikes are inevitable and could end up to a drawdown of supply on global markets. The land ‘down under’ accounts for 10% of the global supply in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), so an interruption in gas flows from the country could bring a firm squeeze in gas prices if the supply side is unable to cope or replace the missing 10% anytime soon.

At the time of writing, Natural Gas is trading at $2.825 per MMBtu.  

Natural Gas news and market movers

• European gas futures, which are more sensitive to supply issues, are up 8% on the back of headlines from Australia.  At one point futures even peaked to 11%.
• The Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities are set to be shut down as of 05:00 GMT. Those two plants alone account for 7% of the world’s supply. 
• The strikes will result in brief work stoppages and no overtime. In case no deal is reached before September 14, the plants will completely shut down for two weeks.
• This action is the culmination of several weeks of discussions that kept markets on edge. Several key issues are still to be discussed, according to several sources from both Chevron and the unions, Reuters reports. 
• In a Facebook statement, the Offshore Alliance Union said: “Chevron’s bargaining performance has been the most inept effort of any employer the union has dealt with in the past five years and our members have had enough.”
• The Baker Hughes Rig Count data in the US might get a bit more attention to see if the US can  supply itself enough when it comes to LNG production. 

Natural Gas Technical Analysis: There is the breakout

Natural Gas is breaking out and is already trading above the highs seen on Wednesday and Thursday. After weeks of nervous communication, traders can finally head into more binary trade setups as the risk of a full shutdown is just a few days away. With the clock ticking, expect to see gas prices to rise as the risk of lower supply increases. 

On the upside, $2.83 needs to be taken out in order for this bounce to gain momentum. Once this rebound materialises, look for the  the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) near $2.95. In case price starts to break above there and head higher, $3 will be crucial with the high of September at stake. 

On the downside, the trend channel has done a massive job underpinning the price action. The 55-day SMA already provided support ahead of any test on the lower end of the trend channel. In case the 55-day SMA breaks, look for support near $2.65. 

XNG/USD (Daily Chart)