Open interest in natural gas futures markets shrank for the second session in a row on Thursday, now by nearly 7K contracts according to preliminary readings from CME Group. Volume, instead, remained erratic and rose by around 173.4K contracts.

Natural Gas: Initial hurdle comes near $2.90

Prices of natural gas rose markedly and approached the key $2.80 region on Thursday. The daily gains, however, were amidst diminishing open interest and hints at the idea that a correction could be in store for the commodity in the very near term. In the meantime, there is a solid up-barrier at the June peak of $2.878 (June 28) ahead of the March high at $3.02 per MMBtu (March 3).