What happened last time? › Commodities
What happens when natural gas hits an all-time high?
It has happened 6 times since 1997. A year after it began, the S&P 500 was up 3 of 5 times, with a median move of +11.4%. On an ordinary day in the same years the median was +11.7%, up 77% of the time.
Natural gas (Henry Hub): % below its all-time high above -0.01. Not true on 2026-09-25.
What came next
| 1 month later | 1 year later | 3 years later | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | -0.3% 33% up · n 6 · normal +1.3% | +11.4% 60% up · n 5 · normal +11.7% | +27.3% 60% up · n 5 · normal +29.9% |
| Gold | -1.4% 33% up · n 6 · normal +0.4% | +1.2% 80% up · n 5 · normal +8.5% | +32.7% 80% up · n 5 · normal +36.5% |
| Oil | -4.2% 50% up · n 6 · normal +1.0% | -13.0% 20% up · n 5 · normal +6.2% | +1.3% 60% up · n 5 · normal +23.2% |
| 10-year yield (pts) | +0.01 pts 50% up · n 6 · normal -0.01 pts | -0.66 pts 40% up · n 5 · normal -0.12 pts | -0.05 pts 40% up · n 5 · normal -0.28 pts |
| Inflation, CPI y/y (pts) | +0.03 pts 50% up · n 6 · normal -0.00 pts | -0.94 pts 20% up · n 5 · normal +0.08 pts | -0.63 pts 40% up · n 5 · normal +0.06 pts |
| Unemployment rate (pts) | 0.00 pts 50% up · n 6 · normal 0.00 pts | -0.10 pts 40% up · n 5 · normal -0.30 pts | -1.00 pts 40% up · n 5 · normal -0.50 pts |
Median move after each episode began, how often it rose, and how many episodes had data. "Normal" is the same move from any trading day in the same years.
Every time it happened
- 2026-01-23 · true for 1 trading day · S&P 500 a year later: –
- 2021-02-17 · true for 1 trading day · S&P 500 a year later: +11.4%
- 2003-02-24 · true for 4 trading days · S&P 500 a year later: +36.8%
- 2000-11-27 · true for 9 trading days · S&P 500 a year later: -14.8%
- 2000-08-22 · true for 24 trading days · S&P 500 a year later: -22.2%
- 1997-01-07 · true for 6 trading days · S&P 500 a year later: +28.0%
- 6 separate episodes: a new one starts after 30 days without a match, so one long selloff counts once.
- Few episodes: read the ranges and the interval, not just the median.
- Try enough situations and one will look like an edge by chance.
- Macro numbers are as published at the time. Stocks include companies that later died.
- How these numbers are made.
More about commodities
- What happens after oil rises 50% in a year?
- What happens after oil doubles in a year?
- What happens after oil rises 30% in three months?
- What happens after oil falls 30% in three months?
- What happens after oil falls 50% in six months?
- What happens when oil hits an all-time high?
- What happens after gold rises 50% in a year?
- What happens after gold doubles in a year?