The Two Minutes That Made Traders Lose Faith in the Gas Market
From an erroneous trading halt to speculation about “banging the close,” the US gas market is showing signs of strain
Gas processing plant at the Henry Hub, the delivery point for natural gas futures.
Photographer: Derick E. Hingle/Bloomberg
More than a week after an extreme bout of volatility roiled the US natural gas market, traders are still fuming over a glitch they say sowed chaos in a key commodity market.
During a record-breaking surge in gas futures on Jan. 27, the New York Mercantile Exchange imposed an extraordinary 2-minute trading halt during the market close that skewed the settlement price and confounded traders already exercised over a demand outlook that had been upended by cold weather. The market pause, which should have lasted only five seconds, was the ninth circuit breaker triggered in the past day.