New York, Jan 6, 2026, 14:04 EST — Regular session
- U.S. Natural Gas Fund (UNG) fell about 4% as front-month gas futures extended a selloff
- Traders pointed to weaker heating demand and soft Henry Hub spot prices after an unusually mild start to January
- Focus turns to Thursday’s U.S. storage report for the next demand-and-supply signal
Shares of U.S. Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG), a natural gas price-tracking exchange-traded fund, fell 46 cents to $11.17 in afternoon trading as U.S. gas futures slipped to fresh multi-month lows. NYMEX February natural gas was last around $3.38 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down about 14 cents on the day, with chart watchers flagging support near $3.41 and $3.29 and resistance around $3.58.
The move matters now because the market is in peak winter, when day-to-day temperature shifts can swing heating demand and quickly reprice gas-linked funds and producers. A warmer forecast can reduce expected “burn” for heating, leaving traders more focused on storage levels and daily cash prices.
Spot pricing has also softened, feeding the bearish tone. Henry Hub spot gas traded at $2.86 per mmBtu on Monday after averaging $4.13 in December, Eli Rubin at EBW Analytics Group wrote in a report carried by Rigzone. “Physical natural gas prices are crashing,” Rubin wrote, adding that the near-term outlook “continues to bleed heating demand.” rigzone.com
The next checkpoint is government storage data. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly natural gas storage report is due on Thursday, with the agency’s schedule showing the standard release time is 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Gas-weighted U.S. producers also traded lower as futures slid. EQT Corp was down 82 cents at $52.53, Antero Resources fell 77 cents to $32.11 and CNX Resources slipped 37 cents to $35.77, while Comstock Resources edged up 6 cents to $22.62.
UNG is designed to track near-dated NYMEX gas futures, so it can move sharply when front-month contracts swing and as funds roll positions forward. That makes it a direct proxy for weather-driven volatility, but also leaves holders exposed to drawdowns when the curve shifts and prices fall.
A key risk to the bearish trade is a late-month swing back to sustained cold, which would lift heating demand and tighten balances quickly. Any disruption to production or a surprise pickup in export-related demand would have a similar effect.
Traders are watching Thursday’s storage report and the next round of mid-January temperature updates for confirmation that demand is easing — or signs the selloff has gone too far.
