Propane Prices

Natural gas futures are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This is the largest natural gas futures market in the world. Below are the contract specs for natural gas futures.

Trading Unit10,000 million British thermal units (mmBtu).Price QuotationU.S. dollars and cents per mmBtu.Trading Hours (All times are New York time)Open outcry trading is conducted from 10:00 AM until 2:30 PM.After hours futures trading is conducted via the CME Globex trading platform, with the following schedule:Sunday 6:00 PM until 9:50 AM the following day (Monday’s trade date)Monday  Thursday 3:15 PM until 5:15 PM the same day (Current trade date)6:00 PM until 9:50 AM the following day (Next trade date)Friday 3:15 PM until 5:15 PM (Friday’s trade date)Trading Months72 consecutive months commencing with the next calendar month (for example, on January 6, 2004, trading occurs in all months from February 2004 through January 2010).Minimum Price Fluctuation$0.001 (0.1) per mmBtu ($10.00 per contract).Maximum Daily Price Fluctuation$3.00 per mmBtu ($30,000 per contract) for all months. If any contract is traded, bid, or offered at the limit for five minutes, trading is halted for five minutes. When trading resumes, the limit is expanded by $3.00 per mmBtu in either direction. If another halt were triggered, the market would continue to be expanded by $3.00 per mmBtu in either direction after each successive five-minute trading halt. There will be no maximum price fluctuation limits during any one trading session.Last Trading DayTrading terminates three business days prior to the first calendar day of the delivery month.Settlement TypePhysical.DeliveryThe Sabine Pipe Line Co. Henry Hub in Louisiana. Seller is responsible for the movement of the gas through the Hub; the buyer, from the Hub. The Hub fee will be paid by seller.Delivery PeriodDelivery shall take place no earlier than the first calendar day of the delivery month and shall be completed no later than the last calendar day of the delivery month. All deliveries shall be made at as uniform as possible an hourly and daily rate of flow over the course of the delivery month.Alternate Delivery Procedure (ADP)An alternate delivery procedure is available to buyers and sellers who have been matched by the Exchange subsequent to the termination of trading in the spot month contract. If buyer and seller agree to consummate delivery under terms different from those prescribed in the contract specifications, they may proceed on that basis after submitting a notice of their intention to the Exchange.Exchange of Futures for Physicals (EFP) or Swaps (EFS)The commercial buyer or seller may exchange a futures position for a physical position or a swaps position of equal quantity by submitting a notice to the Exchange. EFPs and EFSs may be used to either initiate or liquidate a futures position.Grade and Quality SpecificationsPipeline specifications in effect at time of delivery.Position Accountability Levels and LimitsAny one month/all months: 12,000 net futures, but not to exceed 1,000 in the last three days of trading in the spot month.Margin RequirementsMargins are required for open futures positions.

Trading SymbolNG

Source: New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc

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Natural gas accounts for almost a quarter of United States energy consumption, and the NYMEX Division natural gas futures contract is widely used as a national benchmark price. The futures contract trades in units of 10,000 million British thermal units (mmBtu). The price is based on delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana, the nexus of 16 intra- and interstate natural gas pipeline systems that draw supplies from the region’s prolific gas deposits. The pipelines serve markets throughout the U.S. East Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Midwest, and up to the Canadian border. An options contract and calendar spread options contracts provide additional risk management opportunities.

The spread between natural gas futures and electricity futures  the spark spread  can be used to manage price risk in the power markets.Because of the volatility of natural gas prices, a vigorous basis market has developed in the pricing relationships between Henry Hub and other important natural gas market centers in the continental United States and Canada. The Exchange makes available for trading a series of basis swap futures contracts that are quoted as price differentials between approximately 30 natural gas pricing points and Henry Hub. The basis contracts trade in units of 2,500 mmBtu on the NYMEX ClearPortsm trading platform. Transactions can also be consummated off-Exchange and submitted to the Exchange for clearing via the NYMEX ClearPortsm clearing website as an exchange of futures for physicals or exchange of futures for swaps transaction.The e-miNYsm natural gas futures contract, designed for investment portfolios, is the equivalent of 5,000 mmBtu of natural gas, 50% of the size of a standard futures contract. The contract is available for trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) GLOBEX electronic trading platform and clears through the New York Mercantile Exchange clearinghouse.

Source New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.

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