Many energy experts believe natural gas will displace oil as the world's most widely used fuel. Consumption of natural gas, a cleaner and more efficient fuel, is rising in the US, Asia and Europe. The major economies are now preparing for greater natural gas usage amid concerns that oil supplies will fail to meet future energy needs.

The commodities futures markets provide a wide range of gas derivative instruments to enhance financial performance in the physical markets. These instruments enable producers and consumers to hedge against price risk. They are also used as speculative investment vehicles.

Gas market professionals, whether buying or selling the physical product, or dealing in gas financial futures, analyse price history to gain market insight. They compare current and historical situations, and the factors that give rise to them, to determine the direction of gas price movements.

Gas market professionals perform a wide range of analyses, powered by real-time price data and gas price history, to make informed decisions. They examine price history, trading volume history and other information history to look for price trends and trading patterns to help them understand how and why the gas market moves.

They use price history to chart gas price trends against particular developments or to correlate and compare a gas instrument with instruments in the energy or other financial markets. Seasonality is an important factor in energy markets so they also use gas price history to chart its impact on gas prices.

Gas market professionals also use price history to calculate spreads, the difference between prices, on futures contracts. They may, for instance, want to calculate a spark spread, the difference between a natural gas future and electricity future, to help them hedge against price risk in the power market.