NATURAL GAS FUTURES (NG)
Plain English
Natural gas is one of the most volatile commodity futures. Prices are highly sensitive to weather — cold winters and hot summers drive demand. Storage reports (released every Thursday by EIA) are major weekly market movers. NG can move 10%+ in a single day.
Going deeper
Natural gas futures (NG) on NYMEX: 10,000 MMBtu, tick = $0.001/MMBtu = $10/contract. Key drivers: Weather (heating demand in winter, cooling demand in summer — critical factor), EIA Weekly Storage Report (Thursday 10:30 AM ET), LNG Export capacity and demand, production levels (Appalachian basin, Permian associated gas), pipeline constraints, and seasonal patterns. Natural gas is notoriously mean-reverting due to storage cycles, making it one of the more complex commodities to trend-follow. Extreme weather events (polar vortex, heat waves) cause violent price spikes. BOIL and KOLD are 2x leveraged ETFs for non-futures traders.
Examples
Weather Spike
A polar vortex warning sends heating demand forecasts surging. Natural gas spikes from $3.00 to $4.50 in 3 days (50%!). Traders who positioned ahead of the weather event capture huge gains. When temperatures normalize, NG reverts just as quickly.
Storage Report Reaction
Analysts expect 60 BCF storage injection. The EIA reports only 30 BCF (less supply added to storage than expected — bullish). NG jumps $0.15 in minutes. Each NG contract gains $1,500 on a $0.15 move.