The US EIA reported a change in natural gas storage, showing a drop of 360 billion cubic feet. This figure was better than the predicted drop of 379 billion cubic feet as of 30 January.<\/p>\n
Crude oil prices decreased as tensions between the US and Iran eased. WTI prices tested at the $63 mark.<\/p>\n
The Japanese yen was affected by potential risks related to Japanese elections. Meanwhile, changes in the Thai baht highlighted uncertainties tied to elections there.<\/p>\n
Silver faced a substantial drop, with XAG\/USD falling by 13% amidst a broader metals downturn. Meanwhile, Bitcoin saw a sharp decline, slipping below $70,000, contributing to turmoil in the crypto market.<\/p>\n
The information presented contains risks and forward-looking statements. It is intended for information purposes only and is not a buying or selling recommendation. It emphasises the importance of independent research before making investment decisions.<\/p>\n
The natural gas storage report from January 30th showed a withdrawal of 360 billion cubic feet (Bcf), which was a slightly smaller draw than the market anticipated. While this number is historically massive, the fact that it came in below the -379 Bcf forecast suggests demand was not quite as strong as we expected during the recent cold snap. This creates immediate two-way price risk for traders.<\/p>\n
This latest withdrawal is immense when compared to historical figures, dwarfing the five-year average draw of roughly -185 Bcf for this week. This has pulled total working gas inventories down significantly, placing current storage levels at a deficit to both last year and the five-year average. Such a tight supply backdrop provides a strong underlying support for prices against any major collapse.<\/p>\n
When we look back to this same time in 2025, we recall a much milder winter that led to weaker withdrawals and a comfortable storage surplus. The market dynamics were completely different then, with persistent pressure on prices due to oversupply. The current storage deficit is a stark reminder of how quickly fundamentals can change in just one year.<\/p>\n
For the coming weeks, we believe derivative traders should pay extremely close attention to weather models for the rest of February. Any forecast for sustained cold could cause a sharp price spike, making long-call positions or bull-call spreads attractive for capturing upside. Conversely, with the peak demand season nearing its end, buying puts could serve as a valuable hedge against an early spring warm-up that would crush prices.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Natural gas storage dropped less than expected; oil, silver, and Bitcoin prices fell amid global uncertainties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}