New York, January 6, 2026, 06:38 EST — Premarket
- U.S. natural gas futures were down about 2.7% early Tuesday, deepening a weather-driven pullback.
- UNG fell 3.6% on Monday; leveraged BOIL dropped 10.9% while inverse KOLD rose 11.2%.
- Traders are watching Thursday’s U.S. storage report and mid-January weather updates for the next cue. EIA
Natural gas-linked exchange-traded funds fell sharply in the last session as a warmer forecast knocked benchmark U.S. natural gas futures lower, and futures were down another 2.7% early Tuesday at about $3.43 per million British thermal units, or mmBtu.
The move matters now because early January weather often drives winter heating demand, storage withdrawals and short-term price direction for Henry Hub gas — the U.S. benchmark. Retail investors use these ETFs to trade that swing without opening a futures account.
Natural gas can turn on a forecast update. When models strip out cold, traders mark down expected heating demand and front-month prices can move fast, especially in products that target daily leverage.
The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) closed down 3.6% at $11.63 on Monday, while ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (BOIL) slid 10.9% to $19.21. ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (KOLD), which is designed to rise when natural gas futures fall, gained 11.2% to $41.47.
U.S. natural gas futures dropped more than 5% on Monday, with the February contract trading at $3.41/mmBtu in morning U.S. trade, according to a Reuters report. The same report said forecasters saw warmer-than-average temperatures through Jan. 20, pushing heating degree days — a measure of heating demand — well below the 30-year norm; Ritterbusch & Associates said the market was in “fresh new low territory” and warned downside risk “extends to the $3.00 area” without weather support.
Supply and exports remain the counterweight. The Reuters report cited LSEG forecasts putting average demand including exports at 133.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) this week and 134.2 bcfd next week, with Lower 48 output seen at 109.2 bcfd so far in January and flows to the eight largest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants at 18.8 bcfd.
A separate Bloomberg report also pointed to a warmer outlook for parts of the western U.S. in mid-January, while putting Lower-48 dry gas production at about 110.6 bcf/day on Sunday and estimated gas flows to LNG export terminals near 20 bcf/day.
For investors, the fund structure is part of the story. USCF says UNG aims for daily percentage changes in its net asset value to reflect daily percentage changes in Henry Hub-linked natural gas futures, while ProShares says BOIL and KOLD target 2x and -2x, respectively, of the daily performance of a natural-gas futures benchmark and invest in futures and swaps rather than the physical fuel. Uscfinvestments
But the trade cuts both ways. A shift back toward colder weather can trigger a quick rebound in futures — and leveraged and inverse ETFs have daily targets, so returns over longer holding periods can diverge sharply when volatility is high. ProShares
The next catalyst is Thursday, January 8, when the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due to publish its weekly natural gas storage report at 10:30 a.m. ET, alongside fresh weather-model updates that traders use to recalibrate demand. EIA
