Trading natural gas futures can be like riding a psychotic horse through a burning barn. The implosive price action in 2020 came during the global pandemic that pushed most commodity prices to multi-year lows. While U.S. natural gas futures fell to $1.44 per MMBtu, the lowest price since 1995, nearby NYMEX crude oil futures traded under zero for the first time since trading began in the 1980s.
The war in Ukraine erased the bearish sentiment in oil and natural gas futures markets, causing oil to rise to over $130 per barrel and natural gas to eclipse $10 per MMBtu, with the energy commodities reaching levels not seen since 2008. While the war continues, traditional energy prices have declined, with oil at the $70 per barrel level and natural gas threatening to move below $2 per MMBtu in June 2023.
