You may have heard that natural gas is a fast-growing source of energy, and about half the households in the United States use natural gas to heat their homes. This is true, which makes natural gas a great resource and also a possibility for investment.
Ways to Invest in Natural Gas
There are three main ways to invest in Natural Gas. These are ETFs, Futures and Stocks.
ETFs are funds tracking the equity of natural gas producers or the price of natural gas. A couple different options of ETFs are the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), which invests in front month futures contracts or the Teucrium Natural Gas Fund (NAGS), which spreads exposure across multiple maturities to look at prices more long-term.
Futures for natural gas are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The market for natural gas futures is very liquid. This means trading is very active throughout the week, especially on Thursdays when the Department of Energy releases its weekly natural gas storage report. Natural gas holds the second-highest volume futures contract in the world.
Stocks are a great investing option if you don’t want to directly deal with futures contracts. In the case of stocks, you can get indirect exposure to natural gas by investing in companies explore fuel types. Some companies focus purely on natural gas and others engage with both natural gas and crude oil.
Investing in natural gas could be something that is well-worth your time and money. It may be something to explore in further detail if you are interested.