Natural Gas (NG): Live Price, Contract Size and Why It Moves Like That
Natural gas is the most weather-driven market on this list and one of the most volatile. The contract is large, the tick is $10, and a forecast revision can move it further in a morning than an index moves in a week.
Natural gas futures (NG) are 10,000 MMBtu per contract, with a minimum tick of 0.001 worth $10. Weather forecasts and the weekly storage report drive it, and it is among the most volatile commodity futures - so the position a given stop allows is usually far smaller than traders expect.
Natural gas (NG) right now
One pip = 0.001 of price. A standard lot is 10,000 MMBtu, so pip value = pip size × contract size × lots. Figures assume a USD account; confirm the contract size with your broker.
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Open NATGAS on the live desk (H1) → See what the desk does →The contract
| NG futures | |
|---|---|
| Contract size | 10,000 MMBtu |
| Tick | 0.001 = $10 |
| A $0.10 move | $1,000 per contract |
At those numbers a stop that looks small on the chart is a large sum. Micro and CFD versions exist; check the specification of the instrument you actually trade.
What drives it
- Weather forecasts. Heating and cooling demand dominate, and a revision to a two-week forecast can move the price several percent before any physical fact changes.
- The weekly storage report, a scheduled release that reliably produces a spike.
- Production and pipeline outages.
- Seasonality, with distinct injection and withdrawal seasons - although trading a seasonal tendency is not the same as having an edge.
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Play free, no signup →Why it punishes ordinary sizing
Natural gas regularly moves several percent in a session. A position sized as if it were an index carries a multiple of the intended risk, and the wide ranges mean stops must be wider, which forces the size down further. The tool above computes it; the tick value calculator covers the other contracts.
Contract rollover
Front-month gas contracts expire monthly, and the roll can produce a price gap on a continuous chart that never happened in any single contract. Know which month you hold and when it expires.
Frequently asked questions
How big is a natural gas contract?
The NG futures contract is 10,000 MMBtu, with a 0.001 tick worth $10. A $0.10 move is $1,000 per contract.
What moves natural gas prices?
Weather forecasts above all, the weekly storage report, production and pipeline disruptions, and seasonal demand.
Why is natural gas so volatile?
Demand is weather-driven and storage is finite, so forecast revisions reprice it quickly. Multi-percent daily moves are routine.
Is natural gas suitable for a small account?
The full contract is large. Micro or CFD versions make it accessible, but the wide ranges still force a small position for the same money at risk.
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