Henry Hub Natural Gas Futures (NG) Contract Specifications
What you're trading
The Henry Hub Natural Gas future (NG) is the global benchmark for natural gas pricing, based on physical delivery at the Henry Hub pipeline interconnect in Erath, Louisiana — the nexus of 16 intra- and inter-state pipelines. NG is the third-largest physical commodity futures contract in the world by volume and is used by utilities, producers, industrial consumers, and LNG exporters to hedge price risk. For speculators, NG is known for sharp volatility driven by weather forecasts, storage reports, hurricane season, and seasonal heating/cooling demand.
Contract size
10,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of deliverable natural gas.
Tick value
Minimum price fluctuation is $0.001 per MMBtu, and each tick is worth $10.00 per contract. A $0.01 move equals $100, and a $0.10 move equals $1,000 per contract. NG can easily move $0.20–$0.50 in a single session around storage reports or cold snaps.
Trading hours
CME Globex: Sunday 5:00 p.m. CT through Friday 4:00 p.m. CT, with the 4:00–5:00 p.m. CT maintenance halt Monday through Thursday. The EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report releases Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. CT and frequently triggers significant moves.
Settlement type
Physically delivered. Trading terminates three business days prior to the first calendar day of the delivery month. Open positions at expiration require physical delivery of natural gas at Henry Hub — speculative traders should close or roll positions well before last trading day.
Margin snapshot
NG has historically been one of the most volatile futures contracts, so margin can change meaningfully during winter cold snaps, hurricane threats, or supply disruptions.
|
Initial margin (overnight) |
~$3,000–$6,500 per contract (approximate; highly volatility-dependent) |
|
Maintenance margin |
~$2,700–$5,900 per contract |
|
Day-trade margin |
Broker-set; often a fraction of overnight margin |
|
Notional value (reference) |
~$35,000 at $3.50/MMBtu |
Margins change with market volatility and vary by broker. The figures above are approximate and for reference only — always confirm current requirements with MetroTrade support or on the CME margin page before trading.