Natural gas prices, which have risen 21 percent in the past week, are likely to erase much of those gains and complete the final arm of a technical pattern known as an “M” formation, according to analysts at MF Global. Natural gas for July delivery faces resistance at the May 13 high of $4.575 per million British thermal units, a level it’s unlikely to cross, said John Kilduff, senior vice president of energy at MF Global Inc. in New York. As the contract turns lower, it could test support at $3.388 per million Btu, last week’s low. “Today is a really key, pivotal day,” he said. “It will really determine whether we tip over and make the M formation and head for the recent lows or keep going.” If natural gas does manage to break through $4.575, it will move into a more-aggressive “V” formation, “which could really get us going,” Kilduff said. Gas would face resistance at $4.88, the February highs, and then above $5, a level not seen since mid-January. Gas for July delivery rose 41.4 cents, or 11 percent, to $4.249 per million Btu yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest settlement since May 14. Prices are down 24 percent this year.

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