“Natural gas prices fell sharply Thursday after the government said supplies expanded more than expected amid ongoing weak demand for oil and gas. Meanwhile, fresh reports indicating the U.S. economy is getting stronger boosted oil prices above $85 a barrel. Natural gas prices fell 8 percent after the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states grew by 83 billion cubic feet to about 1.912 trillion cubic feet for the week ended April 23,”   Pablo Gorondi  Reports From The Associated Press.

“Analysts expected an increase of 72 billion to 76 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. The inventory level was 18.8 percent above the five-year average and 5.6 percent above last year’s storage level.Natural gas for June delivery fell 35 cents to $3.998 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange,” Gorondi Reports.

Supplies are growing even as more companies look for new natural gas sources, analyst Hamza Khan of the Schork Report said. The hope is that gas will be used instead of coal to run more power plants, because it burns cleaner with fewer emissions. For now, demand for electricity and natural gas is weak in the recovering economy. “We’re expecting huge builds in natural gas and that’s exactly what we’re seeing,” Kahn said.

As a result Natural Gas ETFs were getting slammed on huge volume accross the board. See John Spence’s comments below.

“U.S. Natural Gas Fund (NYSE:UNG) was off more than 8% in afternoon trading Thursday after government data showed a surprisingly steep rise in weekly natural gas inventories and a gain in monthly output. The exchange-traded fund, which invests in natural-gas futures, is off more than 30% this year. About 59.4 million shares of the ETF traded hands Thursday afternoon, more than double its average daily volume. The iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSE:GAZ) was off more than 7% and the U.S. 12 Month Natural Gas Fund (NYSE:UNL) slipped about 6%,” John Spence Reports From MarketWatch.

ETFs offer an easy way to play Natural Gas and there are many options available besides the most popular US Natural Gas ETF (NYSE: UNG).  We have listed some options for investors to look at and compare to one another below.  Note that we have listed some industry related ETFs as well as direct Natural Gas exposure plays excluding any leveraged ETFs.   

United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSE: UNG)   

The United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (“UNG”) is a new way for investors and hedgers to manage their exposure to energy. The United States Natural Gas Fund LP (NYSE: UNG) is an exchange traded security that is designed to track in percentage terms the movements of natural gas prices. UNG issues units that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca. The investment objective of UNG is for the changes in percentage terms of the units’ net asset value to reflect the changes in percentage terms of the price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana, as measured by the changes in the price of the futures contract on natural gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange that is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it will be measured by the futures contract that is the next month contract to expire, less UNG’s expenses.   

United States 12 Month Natural Gas (NYSE: UNL)   

The investment seeks to reflect the changes, net of expenses, of the spot price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana, as measured by the changes in the average of the prices of 12 futures contracts on natural gas traded on the NYMEX. The fund will consist of the near month contact to expire and the contracts for the following eleven months, for a total of 12 consecutive months contracts, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it will be measured by the futures contract that is the next month contract to expire and the contracts for the following eleven consecutive months.   

iPath DJ-UBS Natural Gas TR Sub-Idx ETN (NYSE: GAZ)   

The investment seeks results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Total Return Sub-Index. The note is designed to reflect the performance of natural gas. The index is composed of the Henry Hub Natural Gas futures contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.   

First Trust ISE-Revere Natural Gas Idx (NYSE: FCG)   

The investment seeks to replicate, net of expenses, the ISE-REVERE Natural Gas index. The fund invests at least 90% of assets in common stocks that comprise the index. The index is an equal-weighted index that consists of exchange-listed companies that derive a substantial portion of their revenue from the exploration and production of natural gas. The fund is nondiversified.   

iShares Dow Jones US Oil Equipment Index (NYSE: IEZ)   

The investment seeks results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Equipment & Services index. The fund generally invests at least 90% of assets in securities of the Underlying index and depositary receipts representing securities of the Underlying index. It may invest the remainder of assets in securities not included in the Underlying index but which BGFA believes will help the fund track Underlying index, and in futures contracts, options on futures contracts, options and swaps as well as cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by BGFA. It is nondiversified.   

Jefferies | TR/J CRB Wildcatters Exploration & Production Equity ETF (NYSE: WCAT)   

The investment seeks investment results that replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Wildcatters Energy E&P Equity index. The fund normally invests at least 80% of total assets in the equity securities that comprise the underlying index and depositary receipts based on the securities in index. The index is designed to track the overall performance of a universe of listed U.S. and Canadian small and mid-capitalization companies engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. The fund is nondiversified.

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NYSE:FCG, NYSE:GAZ, UNG