Natural Gas December (Z) Contract

Natural Gas (NG) December (Z) contract study: year-by-year results, the day-by-day shape of the move and where highs and lows printed.

Contract Almanac · Natural Gas (Henry Hub)

The December Contract (NGZ): A 16-Year Study

Every December natural gas contract 2010–2025, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Oct 25 – Nov 21

The December contract is the widow-maker board’s last green month, and its role is precise: it leads from late October to just before Thanksgiving, the one window where winter fear reliably builds rather than dies. Its +2.7% average, second-best on the NG board, sits on an even 8 and 8 record with spectacular tails, because when November cold arrives early, this contract is holding the match.

How this study is measured

Each year is one contract, measured from the open of the day it took over the lead to the close of the day it handed off, the same roll convention used across all Traders Brief research. Tenure lengths vary by a few trading days from year to year, so day counts differ slightly at the tail. All highs and lows are the contract’s own trades, marked by trading day of the tenure, not calendar day.

Record
8 / 8
50% finished higher
Avg change
+2.7%
median +1.1%
Avg best point
+13.4%
peak vs tenure open
Avg worst point
−10.0%
trough vs tenure open

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