New York, Jan 6, 2026, 17:26 EST — After-hours
- UNG fell about 3% as U.S. gas prices extended a sharp early-January slide
- February NYMEX gas settled down nearly 5% as forecasts pointed to weaker heating demand
- Traders are watching Thursday’s EIA storage report for the next signal on winter draws
The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) fell 3.1% to $11.28 in Tuesday trading, as the latest drop in U.S. natural gas prices weighed on gas-linked funds and producers. ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (BOIL) fell 2.8%, while inverse fund ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (KOLD) rose 2.7%.
The move matters because the U.S. is in the core winter heating season, when small shifts in temperature forecasts can quickly change demand for gas used to heat homes and businesses. When forecasts turn warmer, traders typically price in smaller withdrawals from underground storage and lower spot and futures prices.
UNG is a widely used way to track U.S. natural gas through NYMEX futures, rather than buying physical gas. The fund holds the nearest (“front-month”) futures contract and rolls to the next month, a process that can add friction when later-dated contracts trade above the front month, a structure known as contango.
February NYMEX natural gas — the front-month contract — settled down 4.91% at $3.35 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Tuesday, sliding to a fresh roughly 2-1/4-month low, Barchart data showed. Forecaster Xweather said above-normal temperatures should blanket most of the United States through Jan. 10, while BloombergNEF pegged Lower 48 dry gas output at 112.2 billion cubic feet per day and demand at 89.5 bcfd on Tuesday. Barchart.com
Cash markets signaled similar pressure. EBW Analytics Group analyst Eli Rubin said Henry Hub spot prices — the benchmark for physical gas in Louisiana — “traded at a mere $2.86 per MMBtu” on Monday, and warned the weakness could spill into futures as demand eases later this week. Rubin also noted “weekly LNG feedgas reached a record 19.9 Bcfpd,” but said “weather remains king” as early-January warmth erodes heating demand. Rigzone
But the near-term balance can flip fast. A colder turn later in January, production disruptions or pipeline constraints can tighten supply and trigger sharp rebounds, particularly with leveraged products that magnify day-to-day swings.
Next up is the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly natural gas storage report due on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, a key gauge of how much gas utilities are pulling from underground inventories. Traders will also track updates to mid-January weather models for signs that colder patterns are returning. eia.gov
