Indian Natural Gas futures (symbol: NATGASIND) are NSE Commodities' cash-settled monthly contracts on the price of domestically traded natural gas — quoted in ₹ per mmBtu at the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) delivery hub at Dahej, Gujarat. It is a bet on Indian gas economics, unlike the standard natural gas contract, which tracks the US benchmark.
Why are there two natural gas contracts?
Because there are two different gas prices that matter:
- NATURALGAS — NSE's standard contract tracks the international benchmark (the US Henry Hub market). It moves with American weather, storage data and global LNG flows.
- NATGASIND — tracks the price of gas actually delivered in India, discovered on the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX). It reflects domestic demand from industries, city gas distribution and fertiliser plants, and India's LNG import economics.
The two can move differently. A cold snap in Texas can spike Henry Hub while Indian hub prices barely react — and a domestic supply squeeze can do the reverse. Which contract fits depends on which price risk you actually carry: Farhan, running a ceramics unit on gas from Dahej, cares about the Indian price, not Louisiana's.
What are the key contract terms?
| Parameter | NATGASIND |
|---|---|
| Quote | ₹ per mmBtu (GCV basis, excluding fees, transport and taxes) at the IGX Gujarat (Dahej) hub |
| Lot size | 250 mmBtu |
| Tick size | ₹1 per mmBtu |
| Contract cycle | Monthly |
| Last trading day | Last business day of the expiry month |
| Trading session | 9:00 AM to 11:30 / 11:55 PM, Monday to Friday |
| Settlement | Cash settled — no physical delivery |
How is the settlement price worked out?
The final settlement price is the monthly weighted average of actual gas deliveries traded on IGX through the contract month, rounded to the nearest tick. Settling against a whole month of real, physical trades makes the reference price representative and hard to push around — the same design philosophy as Electricity Futures, which settle off a month of day-ahead power prices.
Things to keep in mind
- Check the symbol before you trade: NATGASIND (Indian gas) and NATURALGAS (US benchmark) are different markets that happen to share a name.
- Cash settled — you'll never be asked to take delivery of gas.
- It's a leveraged monthly futures contract: margins, daily mark-to-market and expiry discipline all apply as usual.
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