NYMEX · Energy · Futures
NYMEX Henry Hub Natural Gas (NG) is the North American gas benchmark: 10,000 MMBtu, physically delivered at the Henry Hub in Louisiana.
Source: CME Group contract specifications · reviewed Sep 30, 2026
| Contract | Roll date | First notice | Last trading day | Days left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGX26 Nov 2026 Active | Wed, Oct 21, 2026 | n/a | Wed, Oct 28, 2026 | 29 |
| NGZ26 Dec 2026 | Wed, Nov 18, 2026 | n/a | Wed, Nov 25, 2026 | 57 |
| NGF27 Jan 2027 | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 | n/a | Tue, Dec 29, 2026 | 91 |
| NGG27 Feb 2027 | Wed, Jan 20, 2027 | n/a | Wed, Jan 27, 2027 | 120 |
| NGH27 Mar 2027 | Wed, Feb 17, 2027 | n/a | Wed, Feb 24, 2027 | 148 |
| NGJ27 Apr 2027 | Fri, Mar 19, 2027 | n/a | Mon, Mar 29, 2027 | 181 |
Roll. The date shown is five business days before the last trading day.
First notice day. No separate first notice day – delivery is scheduled after the last trading day. Brokers require positions to be closed or rolled before expiry.
Last trading day. 3 business days before the first calendar day of the contract month.
US exchange holidays ahead: Nov 26 · Dec 25 · Jan 1 · Jan 18 · Feb 15 · Mar 26
Calculated from exchange rules and the US exchange holiday calendar. Confirm with the CME Group expiration calendar.
| Session | Eastern (ET) | Central (CT) | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| CME Globex (electronic) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Sun–Fri 5:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | – |
| Daily maintenance break | Mon–Thu 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Mon–Thu 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. | – |
| US day session (reference) | Mon–Fri 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Mon–Fri 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | – |
| Daily settlement | 2:30 p.m. | 1:30 p.m. | – |
Holiday hours differ – check the CME holiday calendar before trading around US holidays. ET is New York time, CT is Chicago time (always one hour behind ET).
| Contract | Long position | Short position |
|---|---|---|
| NGX26 Nov 2026 Active | $2,811 | $2,829 |
| NGZ26 Dec 2026 | $2,565 | $2,453 |
| NGF27 Jan 2027 | $2,675 | $2,561 |
| NGG27 Feb 2027 | $2,515 | $2,447 |
Exchange margins are the minimum your clearing firm must collect for positions held overnight. Brokers may require more – and usually offer much lower day-trading margins for positions closed before the session ends. A neutral broker day-margin comparison is coming soon.
−23,720 net contracts
−6,513 vs. prior week · −1.3% of OI
Movement (6 wk): −3
Producers, merchants, processors and users hedging physical business – the classic commercials. They tend to buy weakness and sell strength.
+227,244 net contracts
+3,285 vs. prior week · +12.4% of OI
Movement (6 wk): +8
Swap dealers – banks hedging OTC swaps, including commodity index money. Often structurally positioned; read against their own range, not the sign.
−65,547 net contracts
+34,658 vs. prior week · −3.6% of OI
Movement (6 wk): +17
Managed money – CTAs, commodity pools and hedge funds. Trend followers; their positioning tends to peak near turning points.
| Group | Long | Short | Net | Δ 1 wk | Δ 4 wk | Index 26 wk | Index 3 yr | Move 6 wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producers / Merchants | 239,910 | 263,630 | −23,720 | −6,513 | −4,735 | 50 | 67 | −3 |
| Swap Dealers | 248,325 | 21,081 | +227,244 | +3,285 | +20,522 | 100 | 100 | +8 |
| Managed Money | 266,563 | 332,110 | −65,547 | +34,658 | +6,126 | 93 | 35 | +17 |
| Other Reportables | 39,799 | 190,782 | −150,983 | −29,601 | −24,724 | 0 | 22 | −30 |
| Nonreportables | 56,375 | 43,369 | +13,006 | −1,829 | +2,811 | 24 | 36 | −9 |
| Group | Long | Short | Net | Δ 1 wk | Δ 4 wk | Index 26 wk | Index 3 yr | Move 6 wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercials | 605,834 | 402,310 | +203,524 | −3,228 | +15,787 | 94 | 98 | +4 |
| Non-Commercials | 306,362 | 522,892 | −216,530 | +5,057 | −18,598 | 9 | 3 | −3 |
| Nonreportables (small) | 56,375 | 43,369 | +13,006 | −1,829 | +2,811 | 24 | 36 | −9 |
| Report date | Producers / Merchants | Swap Dealers | Managed Money | Other Reportables | Nonreportables | Open interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22, 2026 | −23,720 | +227,244 | −65,547 | −150,983 | +13,006 | 1,837,146 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | −17,207 | +223,959 | −100,205 | −121,382 | +14,835 | 1,820,003 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | −15,265 | +216,391 | −96,742 | −123,025 | +18,641 | 1,823,243 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | −17,049 | +210,481 | −89,481 | −119,430 | +15,479 | 1,807,497 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | −18,985 | +206,722 | −71,673 | −126,259 | +10,195 | 1,747,730 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | −16,786 | +205,112 | −100,080 | −103,423 | +15,177 | 1,727,378 |
| Aug 11, 2026 | −17,971 | +198,648 | −110,630 | −86,505 | +16,458 | 1,692,411 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | −13,794 | +201,008 | −126,933 | −70,613 | +10,332 | 1,705,908 |
| Jul 28, 2026 | −17,017 | +196,681 | −105,826 | −84,973 | +11,135 | 1,672,441 |
| Jul 21, 2026 | −33,107 | +192,209 | −102,756 | −68,382 | +12,036 | 1,679,435 |
| Jul 14, 2026 | −28,132 | +193,660 | −105,709 | −72,903 | +13,084 | 1,663,336 |
| Jul 7, 2026 | −38,184 | +187,688 | −60,295 | −105,012 | +15,803 | 1,669,775 |
Source: CFTC Public Reporting Environment · contract market code 023651 (NAT GAS NYME - NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE)
Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.001.
One tick is $0.001 per MMBtu, worth $10.00 per contract. A 1-cent move is worth $100.
Trading ends 3 business days before the first calendar day of the delivery month.
NG trades on CME Globex Sunday to Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET with a daily one-hour break. Settlement is at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The COT Index places a group's current net position within its own range over a lookback window: 100 = the most net long in that window, 0 = the most net short. It measures positioning extremes, not timing.