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FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISKS AND CONTINGENCIES | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISKS AND CONTINGENCIES |
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISKS AND CONTINGENCIES | NOTE 5 — FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISKS AND CONTINGENCIES UNG may engage in the trading of futures contracts, options on futures contracts, cleared swaps and OTC swaps (collectively, “derivatives”). UNG is exposed to both market risk, which is the risk arising from changes in the market value of the contracts, and credit risk, which is the risk of failure by another party to perform according to the terms of a contract. UNG may enter into futures contracts, options on futures contracts, cleared swaps, and OTC swaps to gain exposure to changes in the value of an underlying commodity. A futures contract obligates the seller to deliver (and the purchaser to accept) the future delivery of a specified quantity and type of a commodity at a specified time and place. Some futures contracts may call for physical delivery of the asset, while others are settled in cash. The contractual obligations of a buyer or seller may generally be satisfied by taking or making physical delivery of the underlying commodity or by making an offsetting sale or purchase of an identical futures contract on the same or linked exchange before the designated date of delivery. Cleared swaps are agreements that are eligible to be cleared by a clearinghouse, e.g., ICE Clear Europe, and provide the efficiencies and benefits that centralized clearing on an exchange offers to traders of futures contracts, including credit risk intermediation and the ability to offset positions initiated with different counterparties. OTC swaps are entered into between two parties in private contracts. In an OTC swap, each party bears credit risk to the other party, i.e., the risk that the other party may not be able to perform its obligations under the OTC swap. The purchase and sale of futures contracts, options on futures contracts and cleared swaps require margin deposits with an FCM. Additional deposits may be necessary for any loss on contract value. The Commodity Exchange Act requires FCMs to segregate all customer transactions and assets from the FCM’s proprietary transactions and assets. To reduce the credit risk that arises in connection with OTC swaps, UNG will generally enter into an agreement with each counterparty based on the Master Agreement published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc., which provides for the netting of its overall exposure to its counterparty. The Master Agreement is negotiated as between the parties and would address, among other things, the exchange of margin between the parties. Futures contracts, options on futures contracts and cleared swaps involve, to varying degrees, elements of market risk (specifically commodity price risk) and exposure to loss in excess of the amount of variation margin. The face or contract amounts reflect the extent of the total exposure UNG has in the particular classes of instruments. Additional risks associated with the use of futures contracts are an imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contracts and the market value of the underlying securities and the possibility of an illiquid market for a futures contract. Buying and selling options on futures contracts exposes investors to the risks of purchasing or selling futures contracts. As to OTC swaps, valuing OTC derivatives is less certain than valuing actively traded financial instruments such as exchange-traded futures contracts and securities or cleared swaps, because the price and terms on which such OTC derivatives are entered into or can be terminated are individually negotiated, and those prices and terms may not reflect the best price or terms available from other sources. In addition, while market makers and dealers generally quote indicative prices or terms for entering into or terminating OTC contracts, they typically are not contractually obligated to do so, particularly if they are not a party to the transaction. As a result, it may be difficult to obtain an independent value for an outstanding OTC derivatives transaction. Significant market volatility has recently occurred in the natural gas markets and the natural gas futures markets. Such volatility is attributable in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, related supply chain disruptions, war, including the Russia-Ukraine war, attacks or threats of attack by terrorists, conflicts in the Middle East, and continuing disputes among natural gas-producing countries. These and other factors could cause continuing or increased volatility in the future, which may affect the value, pricing and liquidity of some investments or other assets, including those held by or invested in by UNG and the impact of which could limit UNG’s ability to have a substantial portion of its assets invested in the Benchmark Futures Contract. In such a circumstance, UNG could, if it determined it appropriate to do so in light of market conditions and regulatory requirements, invest in other Futures Contracts and/or Other Natural-Gas Related Investments. All of the futures contracts held by UNG through December 31, 2023 were exchange-traded. The risks associated with exchange-traded contracts are generally perceived to be less than those associated with OTC swaps since, in OTC swaps, a party must rely solely on the credit of its respective individual counterparties. However, in the future, if UNG were to enter into non-exchange traded contracts, it would be subject to the credit risk associated with counterparty non-performance. The credit risk from counterparty non-performance associated with such instruments is the net unrealized gain, if any, on the transaction. UNG has credit risk under its futures contracts since the sole counterparty to all domestic and foreign futures contracts is the clearinghouse for the exchange on which the relevant contracts are traded. In addition, UNG bears the risk of financial failure by the clearing broker. UNG’s cash and other property, such as Treasuries, deposited with its FCMs are considered commingled with all other customer funds, subject to such FCM’s segregation requirements. In the event of an FCM’s insolvency, recovery may be limited to a pro rata share of segregated funds available. It is possible that the recovered amount could be less than the total of cash and other property deposited. The insolvency of an FCM could result in the complete loss of UNG’s assets posted with that FCM; however, the majority of UNG’s assets are held in investments in Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents with UNG’s custodian and would not be impacted by the insolvency of an FCM. The failure or insolvency of UNG’s custodian, however, could result in a substantial loss of UNG’s assets. USCF invests a portion of UNG’s cash in money market funds that seek to maintain a stable per share NAV. UNG is exposed to any risk of loss associated with an investment in such money market funds. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, UNG held investments in money market funds in the amounts of $70,950,000 and $317,800,000, respectively. UNG also holds cash deposits with its custodian. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, UNG held cash deposits and investments in Treasuries in the amounts of $857,874,769 and $241,691,651 respectively, with the custodian and FCMs. Some or all of these amounts may be subject to loss should UNG’s custodian and/or FCMs cease operations. For derivatives, risks arise from changes in the market value of the contracts. Theoretically, UNG is exposed to market risk equal to the value of futures contracts purchased and unlimited liability on such contracts sold short or that the value of the futures contract could fall below zero. As both a buyer and a seller of options, UNG pays or receives a premium at the outset and then bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the price of the contract underlying the option. UNG’s policy is to continuously monitor its exposure to market and counterparty risk through the use of a variety of financial, position and credit exposure reporting controls and procedures. In addition, UNG has a policy of requiring review of the credit standing of each broker or counterparty with which it conducts business. The financial instruments held by UNG are reported in its statements of financial condition at market or fair value, or at carrying amounts that approximate fair value, because of their highly liquid nature and short-term maturity. ​ For the year ended December 31, 2023, the monthly average volume of open future and swap contract notional values were $795,333,520 and $250,445,925, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the monthly average volume of open future contract notional value was $464,916,303.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for financial instruments. This disclosure includes, but is not limited to, fair value measurements of short and long term marketable securities, international currencies forward contracts, and auction rate securities. Financial instruments may include hedging and non-hedging currency exchange instruments, derivatives, securitizations and securities available for sale at fair value. Also included are investment results, realized and unrealized gains and losses as well as impairments and risk management disclosures. + References No definition available. + Details
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