Last reviewed on October 3, 2026.
Natural gas is not one price. Gas is traded at dozens of hubs — pipeline interconnects, market areas and virtual trading points — and each has its own price. Henry Hub is the U.S. benchmark, but a utility in Boston or a producer in West Texas may pay or receive something very different.
What is a gas trading hub?
A hub is a location where several pipelines meet (a physical hub such as Henry Hub) or a defined market area where gas can change hands without specifying a pipeline point (a virtual hub such as TTF). Hubs attract trading because buyers and sellers can reach many counterparties there, which creates a transparent, liquid price.
Basis: the difference between hubs
In North America, regional prices are usually quoted as basis: the hub price minus the Henry Hub price. A basis of −$1.00 means gas at that hub costs a dollar per MMBtu less than at Henry Hub. Basis reflects pipeline capacity, transport costs and local supply and demand. Basis futures and swaps on ICE and CME let producers and buyers hedge it separately from the Henry Hub price.
Major North American hubs
| Hub | Location | What it reflects |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Hub | Erath, Louisiana | Delivery point for NYMEX futures and the U.S. benchmark; other hubs are quoted as a basis to it. |
| Houston Ship Channel / Katy | Texas Gulf Coast | Gulf Coast industrial and LNG demand; usually trades close to Henry Hub. |
| Transco Zone 3 | Gulf Coast (Williams' Transco pipeline) | Gulf Coast pooling zone on the Transco system that feeds the Southeast and East Coast. |
| Waha | West Texas (Permian Basin) | Prices associated gas from Permian oil wells; often at a deep discount to Henry Hub when pipeline takeaway is full, and has traded below zero at times. |
| Dominion South / Eastern Gas South | Southwest Pennsylvania (Appalachia) | Marcellus and Utica supply; historically at a discount to Henry Hub because of pipeline constraints. |
| Transco Zone 6 New York | New York City area | Northeast demand; can spike far above Henry Hub on cold days. |
| Algonquin Citygate | New England | Pipeline-constrained region; winter prices can be many times Henry Hub during cold snaps. |
| Chicago Citygate | Illinois | Midwest demand center with access to many pipelines. |
| Mid-Continent points (e.g. Panhandle, NGPL Midcon) | Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas Panhandle | Mid-Continent production and storage; usually priced at a discount to Henry Hub. |
| SoCal Citygate / SoCal Border | Southern California | West Coast demand; sensitive to pipeline and storage constraints. |
| AECO | Alberta, Canada | Canadian benchmark, quoted in Canadian dollars per gigajoule (C$/GJ). |
Why New England pays more than Henry Hub in winter
New England sits at the end of the pipeline network with limited capacity into the region. On mild days pipelines can deliver enough gas and Algonquin Citygate trades near other Northeast hubs. On very cold days, heating demand fills the pipes and gas-fired power plants compete for the remainder, so the local price can jump to many times Henry Hub. The region also relies on LNG imports in winter to fill the gap.
Why Permian gas can trade below zero
Most Permian gas is produced alongside oil. Producers drill for oil, so gas output does not slow when gas prices fall. When pipeline takeaway capacity out of West Texas is full or under maintenance, gas at Waha has nowhere to go, and prices can fall below zero — producers effectively pay to have gas taken away rather than shut in oil wells. New pipelines tend to narrow the discount until production catches up again.
International benchmarks
| Benchmark | Location | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTF | Netherlands (virtual) | €/MWh | Continental Europe's benchmark; see our TTF guide. |
| NBP | Great Britain (virtual) | pence/therm | UK National Balancing Point, Europe's oldest traded hub. |
| THE | Germany (virtual) | €/MWh | Trading Hub Europe, Germany's single market area. |
| PEG / PSV / PVB | France / Italy / Spain | €/MWh | National hubs, usually priced relative to TTF. |
| JKM | Japan-Korea Marker | $/MMBtu | Price assessment by S&P Global Commodity Insights for spot LNG delivered to Northeast Asia. |
To compare these with Henry Hub, convert units and currencies with our unit converter. The relationship between U.S. and European prices is covered in the Henry Hub–TTF spread article.
Spot, day-ahead and monthly index prices
At each hub you will see several prices: next-day (day-ahead) spot trades, which respond to tomorrow's weather; monthly index prices set during bidweek for gas delivered evenly over the next month; and futures for future months. The EIA's Henry Hub spot price history is a daily spot series, while most charts show futures.