On 27th September 2010, around 11:00 GMT, the price of crude oil futures, (November Expiry), was
77.70(bid) - 77.76(offer).
You believe the price of oil will drop so you take a sell position of 100 barrels, (equivalent to $1 per tick), at the bid price of $77.70 per barrel.
You were correct, and the price of oil did drop and a few hours later, around 16:00 GMT, the price of crude oil was at
76.74(bid) -76.80 (offer).
You decide to realize your profit and close the position at the offer price of $76.80 per barrel. The price of this oil futures contract dropped by 90 cents per barrel,and as you had a sell position of 100 barrels;you realized $90 profit, ($0.90 per barrel X 100 barrels).
SUMMARY
Open Price $77.70 Close Price $76.80 Difference $0.90 (90 ticks) Profit $90
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This commodity produces nearly a quarter of the United States' energy consumption. It provides energy for homes, commercial buildings and utility plants. It is traded on the New York Mercantile exchange and is measured in Btu (British Thermal Units).
The state with the largest production of natural gas is Texas in the United States. Russia and the US together produce nearly 42% of the world production of natural gas. There is a greater demand for supply in the winter months, which has an effect on the pricing of this commodity. Extremely hot weather in the summer months however can produce larger demands for this product, as it is required to power cooling products as well as heaters.
Most natural gas operations are held in the Gulf of Mexico therefore any extreme weather conditions in this region can affect the price, which could explain the extreme volatility this product is renowned for.