NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 13:35 ET — Regular session
- UNG rose about 1.6% in midday trade, tracking firmer U.S. natural gas futures
- February Henry Hub futures held above the $4 mark after a front-month rollover
- Traders are focused on the next EIA storage report due Wednesday at noon ET
Shares of United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (UNG) climbed on Tuesday as U.S. natural gas prices steadied following a volatile contract rollover. UNG was up 1.6% at $13.26 in midday trading.
The move matters because the market is deep in the winter demand season, when small shifts in temperature forecasts can quickly change heating demand. The front-month futures rollover also tends to concentrate liquidity and repositioning into a single contract, which can sharpen price swings.
Government data released Monday showed working gas in storage across the Lower 48 states fell to 3,413 billion cubic feet (bcf) for the week ended Dec. 19, down 166 bcf from the prior week. Storage is a key gauge of whether supply is keeping up with winter demand.
In futures trading, the front-month contract — the futures month nearest to delivery — was February, last up 0.85% at $4.020 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), CME Group data showed.
“The market reacted strongly to the colder mid-January outlook,” said Eli Rubin, an energy analyst at EBW Analytics Group, in a report cited by Rigzone. He said the January contract surged into final settlement on Monday and that February tested above $4/mmBtu for the first time in about three weeks. Rigzone
For UNG holders, the central question is whether weather models can keep signaling sustained cold into mid-January, supporting another round of heavier withdrawals from storage. If that signal fades, prices often lean back on supply trends and export demand.
UNG is designed to track daily moves in natural gas by holding exposure tied to the NYMEX near-month futures contract, and it shifts to the next contract as expiration approaches, according to sponsor USCF Investments. That mechanics-driven roll is one reason the fund can move sharply around month-end even when the broader story is unchanged.
Leveraged natural-gas products amplified the tape, with ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (BOIL) up about 2.0% and the inverse ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (KOLD) down roughly 2% in midday trading.
Among gas-weighted producers, EQT Corp shares edged up 0.3%, broadly reflecting firmer prompt-month pricing.
The next catalyst is the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly storage report due Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. ET, with the New Year’s holiday shifting the usual Thursday release schedule.
Traders will be watching whether withdrawals accelerate as January begins, and how quickly the storage cushion erodes relative to recent weeks. A bigger draw typically supports the front end of the futures curve, while a smaller draw keeps pressure on the market’s supply side to prove it can meet winter demand.
For now, UNG is moving with a February futures market that has reclaimed the $4 area, leaving weather updates and the next storage print as the immediate drivers into the final trading days of the year.
