Natural Gas Futures Margin & Contract Specifications

What are Natural Gas Futures?

Mini Natural Gas Futures (symbol: MNG) are futures contracts based on the Henry Hub natural gas spot price, traded on the CME NYMEX market.

• Standard Natural Gas Futures (NG): One contract represents 10,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu).
• Mini Natural Gas Futures (QG): One contract represents 2,500 MMBtu, which is one-fourth the size of the standard contract, making it suitable for smaller-scale traders.

Natural gas is one of the world’s most important energy resources, widely used for power generation, industrial processes, and residential heating, which makes its price highly sensitive to supply, demand, and seasonal factors.

Key Factors Affecting Natural Gas Prices

1. Seasonal Demand

Prices typically rise in the winter due to heating demand.

Summer demand may also increase as electricity use for air conditioning rises.

2. Supply Conditions

U.S. shale gas output, pipeline maintenance, or supply disruptions can directly influence prices.

3. Storage Data

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases weekly natural gas storage reports, which are closely monitored as a key market indicator.

4. Crude Oil Prices

While natural gas has its own market, partial substitutability in energy demand means crude oil price swings can indirectly affect natural gas prices.

5. Geopolitical Events

Conflicts such as the Russia–Ukraine war significantly impact European natural gas imports and global price volatility.

6. U.S. Dollar Exchange Rate

Since natural gas is priced in U.S. dollars, a stronger dollar increases costs for international buyers, potentially curbing demand and pressuring prices.

7. Climate and Extreme Weather

Hurricanes, blizzards, and other severe weather events can disrupt supply or sharply increase demand, causing strong price swings.

Trading Hours and Halt Rules

CME Globex Electronic Trading

• Open: Sunday 6:00 p.m. ET → Monday 6:00 a.m. Taiwan time
• Close: Friday 5:00 p.m. ET → Saturday 5:00 a.m. Taiwan time

Daily Maintenance Break:

5:00–6:00 p.m. ET (5:00–6:00 a.m. Taiwan time)

Circuit Breakers:

Natural gas is highly volatile. If daily price swings exceed the set limit, trading halts are triggered.

Summary

Natural gas futures, particularly the mini contracts, are suitable for investors with smaller capital bases due to lower margin requirements and flexible leverage.

Advantages: High volatility, frequent trading opportunities, relatively low margin requirements; suitable for short-term trading and speculation.

Disadvantages: Prices are highly sensitive to seasonal demand and weather patterns, resulting in substantial volatility risks.

Thus, natural gas futures serve not only as a hedging tool for energy companies and industrial users, but also as an active trading instrument for investors seeking opportunities in the global energy market.

Natural Gas Margin

How much money is needed to trade futures? At the beginning, the required margin is the initial margin. While holding a position, the margin after deducting floating profits and losses must remain above the maintenance margin; otherwise, a margin call will be issued. For day-trading margin, only half of the margin is required, provided the position is closed before the market closes.

Foreign Futures

Natural Gas Contract Specifications

Here is a summary for traders of the contract specifications, exchange, trading hours, minimum price fluctuation, and available trading months for Natural GasFutures, E-Mini Natural Gas FuturesFutures.

Natural GasLast Trading Day

Futures