United States Natural Gas Fund, LP - Quarter Report: 2007 September (Form 10-Q)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
x
|
Quarterly
report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2007.
|
¨
|
Transition
report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 for the transition period from
to .
|
Commission
file number: 001-33096
United
States Natural Gas Fund, LP
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
|
20-5576760
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
|
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
1320
Harbor Bay Parkway, Suite 145
Alameda,
California 94502
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(510)
522-3336
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
N/A
(Former
name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to
be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90 days.
x
Yes ¨
No
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated
filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check
one.)
Large
accelerated filer ¨ Accelerated
filer ¨ Non-accelerated
filer x
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act.):
¨
Yes x
No
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
|
Condensed
Financial Statements
|
Index
to Condensed Financial Statements
1
United
States Natural Gas Fund, LP
|
|||||||
Condensed
Statements of Financial Condition
|
|||||||
At September
30, 2007 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2006
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
September
30, 2007
|
December
31, 2006
|
||||||
Assets
|
|||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$
|
302,720,143
|
$
|
1,000
|
|||
Equity
in UBS Securities LLC trading accounts:
|
|||||||
Cash
|
130,383,326
|
-
|
|||||
Unrealized loss
on open commodity futures contracts
|
(13,529,200
|
)
|
-
|
|
|||
Receivable
for units sold
|
65,197,167
|
-
|
|||||
Interest
receivable
|
956,354
|
-
|
|||||
Other
assets
|
5,000 | - | |||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
485,732,790
|
$
|
1,000
|
|||
Liabilities
and Partners' Capital
|
|||||||
Payable
for units redeemed
|
$
|
3,917,623
|
$
|
-
|
|||
General
Partner management fees (Note 3)
|
204,203
|
- | |||||
Brokerage
commissions payable
|
22,800
|
-
|
|||||
Other
liabilities
|
91,715 | - | |||||
Total
liabilities
|
4,236,341
|
-
|
|||||
Commitments
and Contingencies (Notes 3,
4 and 5)
|
|||||||
Partners'
Capital
|
|||||||
General
Partner
|
-
|
20
|
|||||
Limited
Partners
|
481,496,449
|
980
|
|||||
Total
Partners' Capital
|
481,496,449
|
1,000
|
|||||
Total
liabilities and partners' capital
|
$
|
485,732,790
|
$
|
1,000
|
|||
Limited
Partners' units outstanding
|
12,600,000
|
|
|||||
Net
asset value per unit
|
$
|
38.21
|
|
|
|||
Market
value per unit
|
$
|
38.25
|
|
|
|||
See
accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
|
2
United
States Natural Gas Fund, LP
|
||||||||||
Condensed
Schedule of Investments (Unaudited)
|
||||||||||
At
September 30, 2007
|
||||||||||
Open
Futures Contracts
|
||||||||||
Loss
on Open
|
||||||||||
Number
of
|
Commodity
|
%
of Partners'
|
||||||||
|
Contracts
|
Contracts
|
Capital
|
|||||||
United
States Contracts
|
||||||||||
Natural
Gas Futures contracts, expires November 2007
|
7,006
|
$
|
(13,529,200
|
)
|
(2.81
|
)
|
||||
Cash
Equivalents
|
||||||||||
|
Cost
|
Market
Value
|
||||||||
United
States - Money Market Funds
|
||||||||||
AIM
STIT- Liquid Assets Portfolio
|
$
|
32,692,804
|
$
|
32,692,804
|
6.79
|
|||||
AIM
STIT- STIC Prime Portfolio
|
52,921,238
|
52,921,238
|
10.99
|
|||||||
Goldman Sachs Financial Square Funds - Government Fund | 50,164,032 | 50,164,032 | 10.42 | |||||||
Goldman
Sachs Financial Square Funds - Prime Obligations
Fund
|
30,104,368
|
30,104,368
|
6.25
|
|||||||
$
|
165,882,442
|
|
165,882,442
|
34.45
|
Cash |
136,837,701
|
28.42
|
|||||
Total cash & cash equivalents | 302,720,143 | 62.87 | |||||
Cash
on deposit with broker
|
|
130,383,326
|
27.08
|
||||
Other
assets and receivables in excess of liabilities
|
61,922,180
|
12.86
|
|||||
Total
Partners' Capital
|
$
|
481,496,449
|
100.00
|
||||
See
accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
|
3
United
States Natural Gas Fund, LP
|
||||||||
Condensed
Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
|
||||||||
For
the three months ended September 30, 2007 and
the period from April 18,
2007 (commencement of operations) to September
30,
2007
|
||||||||
Period
from
|
||||||||
Three
months ended
|
April
18, 2007 to
|
|||||||
September
30, 2007
|
September
30, 2007
|
|||||||
Income
|
||||||||
Gains
(losses) on trading of commodity futures contracts:
|
||||||||
Realized
gains on closed positions
|
$ | 10,910,020 | $ |
11,177,140
|
||||
Change
in unrealized losses on open positions
|
(5,174,930
|
) | (13,529,200 | ) | ||||
Interest
income
|
2,872,836 |
3,287,018
|
||||||
Other
income
|
48,000 |
62,000
|
||||||
Total
gain
|
8,655,926 | 996,958 | ||||||
Expenses
|
||||||||
General
Partner management fees (Note 3)
|
387,014 |
445,377
|
||||||
Brokerage
commissions
|
142,680 |
158,534
|
||||||
Other
expenses
|
91,811 |
97,051
|
||||||
Total
expenses
|
621,505 |
700,962
|
||||||
Net
gain
|
$ | 8,034,421 | $ | 295,996 | ||||
Net
loss per limited partnership unit
|
$ | (5.28 | ) | $ | (11.79 | ) | ||
Net
gain per weighted average limited partnership
unit
|
$ | 1.17 | $ | 0.07 | ||||
Weighted
average limited partnership units outstanding
|
6,856,522
|
4,224,096
|
||||||
See
accompanying notes to condensed financial
statements.
|
4
Condensed
Statement of Changes in Partners' Capital
(Unaudited)
|
||||||||||
For
the period from April 18, 2007 (commencement of
operations)
to September 30, 2007
|
||||||||||
General
Partner
|
Limited
Partners
|
Total
|
||||||||
Balances,
at April 18, 2007
|
$ |
20
|
$ |
980
|
$
|
1,000
|
||||
Addition
of 20,600,000 partnership units
|
-
|
798,959,388
|
798,959,388
|
|||||||
Redemption
of 8,000,000 partnership units
|
(20
|
)
|
(317,759,915
|
)
|
(317,759,935
|
)
|
||||
Net
gain
|
-
|
295,996
|
|
295,996
|
|
|||||
Balances,
at September 30, 2007
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
481,496,449
|
$
|
481,496,449
|
||||
Net
Asset Value Per Unit
|
||||||||||
At April 18, 2007 (commencement of operations) | $ | 50.00 | ||||||||
At
September 30, 2007
|
$
|
38.21
|
||||||||
See
accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
|
5
United
States Natural Gas Fund, LP
|
||||
Condensed
Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
|
||||
For
the period from April 18, 2007 (commencement of operations)
to September
30, 2007
|
||||
Cash
Flows from Operating Activities:
|
||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
295,996
|
|
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in
operating
activities:
|
||||
Increase
in commodity futures trading account - cash
|
(130,383,326
|
) | ||
Increase
in unrealized loss on futures contracts
|
13,529,200
|
|||
Increase
in interest receivable and other assets
|
(961,354
|
) | ||
Increase
in management fees payable
|
204,203
|
|||
Increase
in commissions payable
|
22,800
|
|||
Increase
in other liabilities
|
91,715
|
|||
Net
cash used in operating activities
|
(117,200,766
|
)
|
||
Cash
Flows from Financing Activities:
|
||||
Subscription
of partnership units
|
733,762,221
|
|||
Redemption
of partnership units
|
(313,842,312
|
)
|
||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
419,919,909
|
|||
Net
Increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents
|
302,719,143
|
|||
Cash
and Cash Equivalents,
beginning of period
|
1,000
|
|||
Cash
and Cash Equivalents,
end of period
|
$
|
302,720,143
|
||
See
accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
|
6
United
States Natural Gas Fund, LP
Notes
to Condensed Financial Statements
For
the period ended September 30, 2007 (Unaudited)
NOTE
1 - ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS
United
States Natural Gas Fund, LP (“USNG” or the “Fund”) is organized as a limited
partnership under the laws of the state of Delaware. The Fund is a commodity
pool that issues units that may be purchased and sold on the American Stock
Exchange (the "AMEX"). The Fund will continue in perpetuity, unless terminated
sooner upon the occurrence of one or more events as described in its Amended
and
Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership (the “Limited Partnership
Agreement”). The investment objective of the Fund is for the changes in
percentage terms of its net asset value to reflect the changes in percentage
terms of the price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana as
measured by the
changes in the price of the futures contract on natural gas (the “Benchmark
Futures Contract”) traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the "NYMEX") that
is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract
is
within two weeks of expiration, in which case it will be measured by the
futures
contract that is the next month contract to expire, less the Fund’s
expenses. The
Fund
will accomplish its objective through investments in futures contracts for
natural gas traded on the NYMEX or other regulated commodity exchanges. The
Fund may also invest in crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and other
petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures or other
U.S.
and foreign exchanges (collectively, “Futures Contracts”) and other natural gas
interests such as cash-settled options on Futures Contracts, forward
contracts for natural gas and over-the-counter transactions that are based
on
the price of natural gas, oil and other petroleum-based fuels, Futures
Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, “Other Natural
Gas-Related Interests”), if in the opinion of the General Partner such
investments will allow the Fund to achieve its investment objective.
The
Fund
commenced operations on April 18, 2007 and has a fiscal year ending on December
31. Victoria Bay Asset Management, LLC is the general partner of the Fund
(the
“General Partner”) and is also responsible for the management of the Fund.
The General Partner is a member of the National Futures Association (the
“NFA”)
and became a commodity pool operator with the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission effective December 1, 2005. Victoria
Bay Asset Management, LLC is also the general partner of United States Oil
Fund,
LP (“USOF”) which listed its units on the AMEX under the ticker symbol “USO” on
April 10, 2006.
The
accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared
in
accordance with Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and, therefore, do not include all
information and footnote disclosure required under accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America. The financial information
included herein is unaudited, however, such information reflects all adjustments
which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair presentation
of
the condensed financial statements for the interim period.
The
Fund issues limited partnership interests (“Units”) to authorized
purchasers by offering creation baskets consisting of 100,000 Units (“Creation
Baskets”) through a marketing agent. The purchase price for a Creation Basket is
based upon the net asset value of a Unit determined as of 4:00 p.m. New
York time on the day the order to create the basket is properly received.
In
addition, authorized purchasers pay the Fund a $1,000 fee for each order to
create one or more Creation Baskets. Units can be purchased or sold on a
nationally recognized securities exchange in smaller increments than a Creation
Basket. Units purchased or sold on a nationally
recognized securities exchange will not be made at the net asset value of
the
Fund but rather at market prices quoted on such exchange.
In
April
2007, the Fund initially registered 30,000,000 Units on Form S-1 with the
SEC.
On April 18, 2007, the Fund listed its Units on the AMEX under the ticker
symbol
"UNG." On that day, the Fund established its initial net asset value by setting
the price at $50.00 per Unit and issued 200,000 Units to the initial authorized
purchaser, Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp., in exchange for
$10,001,000 in cash. As of September 30, 2007, the Fund had registered a
total of 30,000,000 Units. The Fund commenced investment operations on
April 18, 2007 by purchasing Benchmark Futures Contracts traded on the
NYMEX.
NOTE
2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Revenue
Recognition
Commodity
futures contracts, forward contracts, physical commodities and related options
are recorded on the trade date. All such transactions are recorded on the
identified cost basis and marked to market daily. Unrealized gains or losses
on
open contracts are reflected in the condensed statement of financial condition
and in the difference between the original contract amount and the market
value
(as determined by exchange settlement prices for futures contracts and related
options and cash dealer prices at a predetermined time for forward contracts,
physical commodities and their related options) as of the last business day
of
the year or as of the last date of the condensed financial statements. Changes
in the unrealized gains or losses between periods are reflected in the condensed
statement of operations. The Fund earns interest on assets denominated
in U.S. dollars on deposit with the futures commission merchant at the
90-day Treasury bill rate less 50 basis points. In addition, the Fund earns
interest on funds held at the custodian at prevailing market rates earned
on
such investments.
Brokerage
Commissions
Brokerage
commissions on all open commodity futures contracts are accrued on a full-turn
basis.
Income
Taxes
The
Fund
is not subject to federal income taxes; each partner reports his/her
allocable
share of income, gain, loss deductions or credits on his/her own income
tax
return.
Additions
and Redemptions
Authorized
purchasers may purchase Creation Baskets consisting of 100,000 Units
from the
Fund as of the beginning of each business day based upon the prior
day’s net
asset value. Authorized purchasers may redeem Units from the Fund
only in blocks of 100,000 Units called “Redemption Baskets.” The
amount of the redemption proceeds for a Redemption Basket will be
equal to the
net asset value of the Units in the Redemption Basket determined as of 4:00
p.m. New York time on the day the order to create or redeem the basket
is
properly received.
The
Fund
receives or pays the proceeds from Units sold or redeemed one business
day after
the trade-date of the purchase or redemption. The amounts due from
authorized purchasers are reflected in the Fund’s condensed statement of
financial condition as receivable for Units sold, and amounts payable
to
authorized purchasers upon redemption are reflected as payable for
Units
redeemed.
Partnership
Capital and Allocation of Partnership Income and Losses
Profit
or loss is allocated among the partners of the Fund in proportion
to the number
of Units each partner holds as of the close of each month. The General
Partner
may revise, alter or otherwise modify this method of allocation as
described in
the Limited Partnership Agreement.
7
Calculation
of Net Asset Value
The
Fund calculates its net asset value on each trading day by taking the
current market value of its total assets, subtracting any liabilities
and
dividing the amount by the total number of Units issued and outstanding.
The
Fund uses the NYMEX closing price on that day to determine the value of
contracts held on the NYMEX.
Net
Income (Loss) per Unit
Net
income (loss) per Unit is the difference between the net asset value per
Unit at the beginning of each period and at the end of each period.
The weighted
average number of Units outstanding was computed for purposes of
disclosing net
loss per weighted average Unit. The weighted average Units are equal to the
number of Units outstanding at the end of the period, adjusted proportionately
for Units redeemed based on the amount of time the Units were outstanding
during
such period. There were no Units held by the General Partner
at September 30, 2007.
Offering
Costs
Offering
costs incurred in connection with the registration of additional Units
after the
initial registration of Units are borne by the Fund. These costs include
registration fees paid to regulatory agencies and all legal, accounting,
printing and other expenses associated therewith. These costs will
be accounted
for as a deferred charge and thereafter amortized to expense over twelve
months
on a straight line basis or a shorter period if
warranted.
Cash
Equivalents
Cash
and cash equivalents include money market portfolios and overnight
time deposits with original maturity dates of three months or
less.
Use
of Estimates
The
preparation of condensed financial statements in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires
the
Fund’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported
amount of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets
and
liabilities at the date of the condensed financial statements, and the
reported
amounts of the revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual
results
could differ from those estimates and assumptions.
NOTE
3 - FEES PAID BY THE FUND AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
General
Partner Management Fee
Under
the Limited Partnership Agreement, the General Partner is responsible
for
investing the assets of the Fund in accordance with the objectives and
policies
of the Fund. In addition, the General Partner has arranged for one or
more third
parties to provide administrative, custody, accounting, transfer agency
and
other necessary services to the Fund. For these services, the Fund is
contractually obligated to pay the General Partner a fee, which is paid
monthly and based on average daily net assets, that is equal to 0.60%
per annum
on average daily net assets of $1,000,000,000 or less and 0.50% per annum
on
average daily net assets that are greater than $1,000,000,000.
Prior
to its inception, the Fund incurred offering and organizational costs
in the
amount of $670,764, all of which were funded by the General Partner.
The Fund does not have any obligation or intention to reimburse such
payments.
Ongoing
Registration Fees
The
Fund pays all costs and expenses associated with the ongoing registration
of Units subsequent to the intial offering. These costs include
registration or other fees paid to regulatory agencies in connection
with the
offer and sale of Units, and all legal, accounting, printing, and other
expenses
associated with such offer and sale. For the period from April 18, 2007
through
September 30, 2007, the Fund did not incur ongoing registration fees as
stated above.
Directors’
Fees
The
Fund is responsible for paying the fees and expenses, including directors'
and
officers' liability insurance, of the independent directors of the General
Partner who are also audit committee members. The Fund shares these fees
with USOF based on the relative assets of each fund, computed on a daily
basis.
These fees for calendar year 2007 are estimated to be a total of $276,000
for
both funds.
Licensing
Fees
As
discussed in Note 4, the Fund entered into a licensing agreement with
the NYMEX
on May 30, 2007. The agreement has an effective date of April 10, 2006.
Pursuant
to the agreement, the Fund and the affiliated funds managed by the General
Partner pay a licensing fee that is equal to 0.04% for the first
$1,000,000,000 of combined assets of the funds and 0.02% for combined
assets above $1,000,000,000. For the period from April 18, 2007
through September 30, 2007, the Fund incurred $29,692 under this
arrangement.
Investor
Tax Reporting Cost
The
fees and expenses associated with the Fund's tax accounting and reporting
requirements, with the exception of certain initial implementation
service fees
and base service fees which will be borne by the General Partner, will
be paid
by the Fund. These costs are estimated to be $450,000 for the year
ending
December 31, 2007.
Other
Expenses and Fees
In
addition to the fees described above, the Fund pays all brokerage fees,
taxes and other expenses in connection with the operation of the Fund,
excluding
costs and expenses paid by the General Partner as outlined in Note
4.
8
NOTE
4 - CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS
The
Fund is party to a marketing agent agreement, dated as of April
17, 2007, with
ALPS Distributors Inc. (“ALPS”), a Colorado corporation, whereby ALPS provides
certain marketing services for the Fund as outlined in the agreement.
The fees
of the marketing agent, which are borne by the General Partner,
are equal to
0.06% on Fund assets up to $3 billion and 0.04% on Fund assets
in excess of $3
billion.
The
above fees do not include the following expenses, which are also
borne by the
General Partner: the cost of placing advertisements in various
periodicals; web
construction and development; and the printing and production of
various
marketing materials.
The
Fund
is also party to a custodian agreement, dated January 12, 2007, with Brown
Brothers Harriman & Co. (“Brown Brothers”), whereby Brown
Brothers holds investments on behalf of the Fund. The General
Partner pays the fees of the custodian, which shall be determined by the
parties from time to time. In addition, the Fund is party to an administrative
agency agreement, dated March 5, 2007, with the General Partner and Brown
Brothers, whereby Brown Brothers acts as the administrative agent, transfer
agent and registrar for the Fund. The General Partner also pays the
fees of
Brown Brothers for its services under this agreement and such fees
will be
determined by the parties from time to time.
Currently,
the General Partner pays Brown Brothers for its services, in the foregoing
capacities, the greater of a minimum amount of $125,000 annually or an
asset charge of (a) 0.06% for the first $500 million of USOF and
USNG’s combined
net assets, (b) 0.0465% for USOF and USNG’s combined net assets greater
than $500 million but less than $1 billion, and (c) 0.035% for USOF and
USNG’s combined net assets in excess of $1 billion. The General Partner
also pays a $25,000 annual fee for transfer agency services and transaction
fees
ranging from $7.00 to $15.00 per transaction.
The
Fund invests primarily in Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX. On
May 30, 2007, the Fund and the NYMEX entered into a licensing agreement
whereby the Fund was granted a non-exclusive license to use certain
of the
NYMEX’s settlement prices and service marks. The agreement has an effective
date
of April 10, 2006. Under the licensing agreement, the Fund and the
affiliated funds managed by the General Partner pay the NYMEX an
asset-based fee for the license, the terms of which are described in
Note
3.
The
Fund
expressly disclaims any association with the NYMEX or endorsement of
the Fund by
the NYMEX and acknowledges that “NYMEX” and “New York Mercantile Exchange” are
registered trademarks of the NYMEX.
The
Fund
has entered into a brokerage agreement with UBS Securities LLC (the
"Futures Commission Merchant"). The agreement requires the Futures Commission
Merchant to provide services to the Fund in connection with the purchase
and
sale of Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Interests that may
be purchased and sold by or through the Futures Commission Merchant for
the
Fund’s account. The agreement provides that the Futures Commission
Merchant charge the Fund commissions of approximately $7 per round-turn
trade, plus applicable exchange and NFA fees for Futures Contracts and
options
on Futures Contracts.
NOTE
5 - FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISKS AND
CONTINGENCIES
The
Fund engages in the speculative trading of Futures Contracts and
options on Futures Contracts (collectively, “derivatives”). The
Fund 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.
All
of
the contracts currently traded by the Fund are exchange-traded. The risks
associated with exchange-traded contracts are generally perceived to
be less
than those associated with over-the-counter transactions since, in
over-the-counter transactions, the Fund must rely solely on the credit
of its
respective individual counterparties. However, in the future, if the
Fund 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. The Fund also has credit risk, since the sole
counterparty to all domestic futures contracts is the exchange clearing
corporation. In addition, the Fund bears the risk of financial failure
by the
clearing broker.
The
purchase and sale of futures and options on Futures Contracts requires
margin
deposits with a futures commission merchant. Additional deposits may be
necessary for any loss on contract value. The Commodity Exchange Act
requires a
futures commission merchant to segregate all customer transactions and
assets
from the futures commission merchant’s proprietary activities.
The
Fund’s cash and other property, such as U.S. Treasury Bills, deposited with
a
futures commission merchant are considered commingled with all other
customer
funds subject to the futures commission merchant’s segregation requirements. In
the event of a futures commission merchant’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 amount of cash and other
property
deposited.
USNG invests
its cash in money market funds that
seek to maintain a stable net asset value. USNG is exposed to any risk of
loss associated with an investment in these money market funds. As
of September 30, 2007, USNG had deposits in domestic and foreign financial
institutions in the amount of $267,221,027. This amount is subject to
loss
should these institutions cease operations.
9
For
derivatives, risks arise from changes in the market value of the contracts.
Theoretically, the Fund is exposed to market risk equal to the value
of Futures Contracts purchased and unlimited liability on such contracts
sold
short. As both a buyer and a seller of options, the Fund 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.
The
Fund’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, the Fund has a
policy requiring review of the credit standing of each broker or
counterparty with which it conducts business.
The
financial instruments held by the Fund are reported in its condensed statement
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.
On
March
17, 2006, USOF received a letter from Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“Goldman
Sachs”) providing it with notice under 35 U.S.C. Section 154(d) of two
pending United States patent applications, Publication Nos. 2004/0225593A1
and
2006/0036533A1. USOF is currently reviewing the Goldman Sachs published
patent
applications, and has engaged in discussions with Goldman Sachs regarding
its
pending applications and USOF’s own pending patent application. USNG and USOF
are similarly structured and USNG is a commodity pool that is administered
like
USOF. USNG and USOF are unable to determine the outcome of this
matter at this time, due in part to the fact that the Goldman Sachs patent
applications are pending and have not been issued as U.S.
Patents.
NOTE 6
- FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The
following table presents per Unit performance data and other supplemental
financial data for the three months ended September 30, 2007 and the
period from
April 18, 2007 (commencement of operations) to September 30, 2007 for
the
limited partners. This information has been derived from information
presented
in the condensed financial statements.
|
|
|
|
For
the period from
|
|||
For
the three months ended
|
April
18, 2007 to
|
||||||
September
30, 2007
|
September
30, 2007
|
||||||
(Unaudited)
|
(Unaudited)
|
||||||
Per
Unit Operating Performance:
|
|||||||
Net
asset value, beginning of period
|
$
|
43.49
|
$
|
50.00
|
|||
Total
loss
|
(5.19
|
) |
(11.62
|
) | |||
Total
expenses
|
(0.09
|
)
|
(0.17
|
) | |||
Net
decrease in net asset value
|
(5.28
|
)
|
(11.79
|
) | |||
Net
asset value, end of period
|
$
|
38.21
|
$
|
38.21
|
|||
Total
Return
|
(12.14
|
)%
|
(23.58
|
)%
|
|||
Ratios
to Average Net Assets (annualized)
|
|||||||
Total
income
|
13.42
|
%
|
1.34
|
%
|
|||
Expenses
excluding management fees
|
(0.36
|
)%
|
(0.34
|
)%
|
|||
Management
fees
|
(0.60
|
)%
|
(0.60
|
)%
|
|||
Net
income
|
12.46
|
%
|
0.40
|
%
|
Total
returns are calculated based on the change in value during the period.
An
individual limited partner's total return and ratio may vary from the above
total returns and ratios based on the timing of contributions to and withdrawals
from the Fund.
NOTE 7
- SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On
November 6, 2007, the Fund filed a Registration Statement on Form S-1
with the
SEC to register an additional 50,000,000 Units.
10
Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
The
following discussion should be read in conjunction with the condensed
financial
statements and the notes thereto of United States Natural Gas Fund,
LP (“USNG”)
included elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.
Forward-Looking
Information
This
quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including this “Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains
forward-looking statements regarding the plans and objectives of management
for
future operations. This information may involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause USNG’s actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from future
results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and
describe
USNG’s future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identifiable
by
use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,”
“believe,” “intend” or “project,” the negative of these words, other
variations on these words or comparable terminology. These forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and USNG
cannot
assure investors that the projections included in these forward-looking
statements will come to pass. USNG’s actual results could differ materially from
those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result
of
various factors.
USNG
has
based the forward-looking statements included in this quarterly report
on Form
10-Q on information available to it on the date of this quarterly report
on Form
10-Q, and USNG assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Although USNG undertakes no obligation to revise or update
any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future
events or otherwise, investors are advised to consult any additional
disclosures
that USNG may make directly to them or through reports that USNG in
the
future files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC"), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q
and current reports on Form 8-K.
Introduction
USNG,
a
Delaware limited partnership, is a commodity pool that issues units
that may be
purchased and sold on the American Stock Exchange (the "AMEX"). The
investment objective of USNG is for changes in percentage terms of
the
units’ net asset value ("NAV") on a daily basis to reflect the changes
in percentage terms in the price of natural gas delivered at the Henry
Hub,
Louisiana as measured by the “Benchmark Futures Contract,” also on a daily
basis, less USNG’s expenses.
USNG
seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a combination
of
natural gas futures contracts and other natural gas interests such
that changes
in USNG’s NAV, measured in percentage terms, will closely track the changes
in the price of a specified natural gas futures contract (the
“Benchmark Futures Contract”), also measured in percentage terms. USNG’s
General Partner believes the Benchmark Futures Contract historically has
exhibited a close correlation with the spot price of natural gas. It
is not the
intent of USNG to be operated in a fashion such that its NAV will equal,
in
dollar terms, the spot price of natural gas or any particular futures
contract
based on natural gas. Management believes that it is not practical
to manage the
portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in listed
natural
gas futures contracts.
At
present, on any valuation day the Benchmark Futures Contract is the near
month contract for natural gas traded on the New York Mercantile
Exchange ("NYMEX") unless the near month contract will expire within
two weeks
of the valuation day, in which case the Benchmark Futures Contract is the
next month contract for natural gas traded on the NYMEX. “Near month
contract” means the next contract traded on the NYMEX due to expire. “Next month
contract” means the first contract traded on the NYMEX due to expire after the
near month contract.
USNG
invests in futures contracts for natural gas, other types of crude
oil, heating
oil, gasoline and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the
NYMEX, ICE
Futures or other U.S. and
foreign exchanges (collectively, “Futures Contracts”) and other natural
gas-related investments such as cash-settled options on Futures Contracts,
forward contracts for natural gas and over-the-counter transactions
that are
based on the price of natural gas, oil and other petroleum-based fuels,
Futures
Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, “Other Natural
Gas-Related Investments”). The general partner of USNG, Victoria Bay Asset
Management, LLC (the "General Partner"), which is registered as a commodity
pool
operator with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is authorized
by
the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of USNG (the
"LP Agreement") to manage USNG. The General Partner is authorized by
USNG in its
sole judgment to employ, establish the terms of employment for and
terminate
commodity trading advisors or futures commission merchants.
Valuation
of Natural Gas Futures Contracts and the Computation of the
NAV
The
NAV
of the units is calculated once each trading day as of the earlier
of the close
of the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") or 4:00 p.m. New York time.
The
NAV for a particular trading day is released after 4:15 p.m. New York time.
Trading on the AMEX typically closes at 4:15 p.m. New York time. USNG uses
the NYMEX closing price (determined at the earlier of the close of
that exchange
or 2:30 p.m. New York time) for the contracts held on the NYMEX, but
calculates or determines the value of all other USNG investments
as of the
earlier of the close of the NYSE or 4:00 p.m. New York time.
11
Management’s
Discussion of Results of Operations and the Natural Gas
Market
Results
of Operations. On
April
18, 2007, USNG listed its units on the AMEX under the ticker symbol
“UNG”. On
that day, USNG established its initial NAV by setting the price
at $50.00 per
unit and issued 200,000 units to the initial authorized purchaser,
Merrill Lynch
Professional Clearing Corp., in exchange for $10,001,000 in cash.
USNG also
commenced investment operations on that day by purchasing Futures
Contracts
traded on the NYMEX that are based on natural gas. The total market
value of the
Futures Contracts purchased on that day was $9,958,080 at the time
of purchase.
USNG established cash deposits equal to $10,001,000 at the time
of the initial
sale of units. The majority of those cash assets were held at USNG’s custodian
bank, while less than 20% of the cash balance was held as margin
deposits with
UBS Securities LLC, USNG’s commodity broker (the "Futures Commission Merchant"),
relating to the Futures Contracts
purchased.
In
its
initial offering, USNG registered 30,000,000 units and, as of September
30,
2007, USNG has issued 20,600,000 units, leaving 9,400,000 units remaining
to be
issued. Unlike funds that are redeemed under the Investment Company
Act of 1940,
as amended, units that have been redeemed by USNG cannot be resold
by USNG
without registration of their offering with the SEC. As a result, USNG
anticipates that further offerings of its units will be registered
with the SEC
in the future in anticipation of additional issuances.
As
of September 30, 2007, the total unrealized loss
on natural gas futures contracts owned or held on that day was $(13,529,200)
and
USNG established cash deposits that were equal to $433,103,469. The
majority of those cash assets were held at USNG's custodian bank, while
less
than 31% of the cash balance was held as margin deposits with the Futures
Commission Merchant for the Futures Contracts purchased. The ending per
Unit NAV on September 30, 2007 was $38.21.
Portfolio
Expenses.
USNG’s
expenses consist of management fees, brokerage fees and
commissions, certain
offering costs, licensing fees and the fees and expenses of the independent
directors of the General Partner. The management fee that USNG pays
to the General Partner is calculated as a percentage of the total net
assets of USNG. For total net assets of up to $1 billion, the management
fee is
0.60%, and for total net assets over $1 billion, the management fee
is 0.50% on
the incremental amount of assets. During
the period from April 18, 2007 through September 30, 2007, the daily
average
total net assets of USNG were approximately $163,215,433.
At no
time during the period from April 18, 2007 to September 30, 2007 did
the total
net assets of USNG exceed $1 billion. The management fee paid by USNG
amounted
to $445,377,
which
was calculated at the 0.60% rate and accrued daily.
USNG pays
for all brokerage fees, taxes and other expenses, including licensing
fees for
the use of intellectual property, ongoing registration or other fees
paid to the
SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") and any
other
regulatory agency in connection with subsequent offers and sales
of its units
and all legal, accounting, printing and other expenses associated
therewith. For
the period from April 18, 2007 through September 30, 2007, USNG did
not incur
any ongoing registration fees. USNG is responsible for paying the fees and
expenses, including directors' and officers' liability insurance,
of the
independent directors of the General Partner who are also audit committee
members. USNG shares these fees with United States Oil Fund, LP ("USOF")
based on the relative assets of each fund, computed on a daily basis.
These fees
for calendar year 2007 are estimated to be a total of $276,000 for
both
funds.
USNG also
incurs commissions to brokers for the purchase and sale of Futures
Contracts,
Other Natural Gas-Related Investments or short-term obligations of the
United States of two years or less ("Treasuries"). During the period
from April
18, 2007 through September 30, 2007, total commissions paid to brokers
amounted to $158,534. Prior to the initial offering, USNG had estimated
that its
annual level of such commissions was expected to be 0.13% of total
net assets.
As an annualized percentage of total net assets, the figures for the
period from
April 18, 2007 through September 30, 2007 represent approximately 0.21%
of total
net assets. However, there can be no assurance that commission costs
and
portfolio turnover will not cause commission expenses to rise
further in future quarters.
Expenses
incurred from April 18, 2007 through September 30, 2007 in connection
with
organizing USNG and the initial offering costs of the units were
borne by the
General Partner, and are not subject to reimbursement by USNG.
Interest
Income.
USNG
seeks to invest its assets such that it holds Futures Contracts and Other
Natural Gas-Related Investments in an amount equal to the total net
assets of
the portfolio. Typically, such investments do not require USNG to pay
the full
amount of the contract value at the time of purchase, but rather require
USNG to
post an amount as a margin deposit against the eventual settlement
of the
contract. As a result, USNG retains an amount that is approximately equal
to its total net assets, which USNG invests in Treasuries, cash and/or cash
equivalents. This includes both the amount on deposit with the Futures
Commission Merchant as margin, as well as unrestricted cash held with
USNG’s
custodian bank. The Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents earn interest
that accrues on a daily basis. For
the
period from April 18, 2007 through September 30, 2007, USNG earned
$3,287,018
in
interest income in such cash holdings. Based on USNG’s average daily total net
assets, this is equivalent to an annualized yield of 4.43%.
USNG
did not purchase Treasuries during the period from April 18, 2007 through
September 30, 2007 and held all of its funds in cash or cash equivalents
during
this period.
Tracking
USNG’s Benchmark.
USNG
seeks to manage its portfolio such that changes in its average daily
NAV, on a
percentage basis, closely track changes in the average daily price
of the
Benchmark Futures Contract, also on a percentage basis. Specifically, USNG
seeks to manage the portfolio such that over any rolling period of 30
valuation days, the average daily change in the NAV is within a range
of 90% to
110% (0.9 to 1.1) of the average daily change of the Benchmark Futures
Contract. As an example, if the average daily movement of the
Benchmark Futures Contract for a particular 30-day time period was 0.50%
per day, USNG management would attempt to manage the portfolio such
that the
average daily movement of the NAV during that same time period fell
between
0.45% and 0.55% (i.e.,
between 0.9 and 1.1 of the benchmark’s results). USNG’s portfolio management
goals do not include trying to make the nominal price of USNG’s NAV equal to the
nominal price of the current Benchmark Futures Contract or the spot price
for natural gas. Management believes that it is not practical to manage
the
portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in listed
natural
gas futures contracts.
12
For
the
30 valuation days ended September 30, 2007, the simple average daily
change in
the Benchmark Futures Contract was -0.370%, while the simple average daily
change in the NAV of USNG over the same time period was -0.359%. The
average
daily difference was 0.011% (or 1.1 basis points, where 1 basis point
equals
1/100 of 1%). As a percentage of the daily movement of the
Benchmark Futures Contract, the average error in daily tracking by the NAV
was 3.602%, meaning that over this time period USNG’s tracking error was within
the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark tracking
goal.
13
Since
the
offering of USNG units to the public on April 18, 2007 to September 30,
2007, the simple average daily change in the Benchmark Futures Contract was
-0.205%, while the simple average daily change in the NAV of
USNG over the same
time period was -0.192%. The average daily difference was 0.013% (or 1.3
basis
points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%). As a percentage
of the daily
movement of the Benchmark Futures
Contract, the average error in daily tracking by the NAV was
3.06%, meaning that
over this time period USNG’s tracking error was within the plus or minus 10%
range established as its benchmark tracking goal.
An
alternative tracking measurement of the return performance
of USNG versus the
return of its Benchmark Futures Contract can be calculated
by comparing the
actual return of USNG, measured by changes in its NAV, versus the
expected
changes
in its NAV under the assumption that USNG’s returns had been exactly the same as
the daily changes in its Benchmark Futures Contract.
For
the
period from July 1, 2007 through September 30, 2007, the actual total
return of USNG as measured by changes in its NAV was -12.14%.
This is based on
an initial NAV of $43.49 on June 30, 2007 and an ending NAV as of
September 30, 2007 of $38.21. During this time period, USNG made no
distributions to its unitholders. However, if USNG’s daily changes in its NAV
had instead exactly tracked the changes in the daily return
of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts, USNG would have ended the third quarter
of
2007 with an estimated NAV of $37.90, for a total return over
the relevant time
period of -12.85%. The difference between the actual NAV total
return of USNG of
-12.14% and the expected total return based on the Benchmark Futures
Contracts of -12.85 was an error over the time period of +0.71,
which is to say
that USNG’s actual total return exceeded the benchmark result by that
percentage. Management believes that a portion of the difference
between the
actual return and the expected benchmark return can be attributed
to the impact
of the interest that USNG collects on its cash and cash equivalent
holdings. In
addition, during the period, USNG also collected fees from
brokerage firms
creating or redeeming baskets of units. This income also contributed
to USNG’s
actual return exceeding the benchmark results. However, if
the total assets of
USNG continue to increase, management believes that the impact
on total returns
of these fees from creations and redemptions will diminish
as a percentage of
the total return.
There
are
currently three factors that have, during the latest period,
or are most likely
to impact USNG’s ability to accurately track its Benchmark Futures
Contract.
First,
USNG may buy or sell its holdings in the then current Benchmark Futures
Contract at a price other than the closing settlement price of
that contract on
the day in which USNG executes the trade. In that case, USNG may
get a price
that is higher, or lower, than that of the Benchmark Futures Contract,
which could cause the changes in the daily NAV of USNG to either be too
high or too low relative to the changes in the daily benchmark.
In the third
quarter of 2007, management attempted to minimize the effect of
these
transactions by seeking to execute its purchase or sales of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts at, or as close as possible to, the end of the
day settlement price. However, it is not always possible for USNG
to obtain the
closing settlement price and there is no assurance that failure
to obtain the
closing settlement price in the future will not adversely impact
USNG’s attempt
to track its benchmark over time.
Second,
USNG earns interest on its cash and Treasury holdings. USNG is not
required to distribute any portion of its income to its unitholders
and did not
make any distribution to unitholders in the third quarter of 2007.
Interest
payments, and any other income, were retained within the portfolio
and added to
USNG’s NAV. When this income exceeds the level of USNG’s expenses for its
management fee, brokerage commissions and other expenses (including ongoing
registration fees, licensing fees and the fees and expenses of the
independent directors of the General Partner), USNG will realize
a net yield
that will tend to cause daily changes in the NAV of USNG to track
slightly
higher than daily changes in the Benchmark Futures Contracts. During the
third quarter of 2007, USNG earned on an annualized basis approximately
4.45% on
its cash holdings. It also incurred cash expenses on an annualized
basis of
0.60% for management fees and approximately 0.22% in brokerage commission
costs
related to the purchase and sale of futures contracts, and 0.14%
for other
expenses. The foregoing fees and expenses resulted in a net yield
on an
annualized basis of approximately 3.56% and affected USNG’s ability to track its
benchmark. If short-term interest rates rise above the current levels,
the level
of deviation created by the yield would increase. Conversely, if
short-term
interest rates were to decline, the amount of error created by the
yield would
decrease. If short-term yields drop to a level lower than the combined
expenses
of the management fee and the brokerage commissions, then the tracking
error
would become a negative number and would tend to cause the daily
returns of the
NAV to underperform the daily returns of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts.
Third,
USNG may hold Other Natural Gas-Related Interests in its portfolio that may
fail to closely track the Benchmark Futures Contract's total return
movements. In that case, the error in tracking the benchmark could
result in
daily changes in the NAV of USNG that are either too high, or too
low, relative
to the daily changes in the benchmark. During the third quarter of
2007, USNG
did not hold any Other Natural Gas-Related Interests. However, there
can be no
assurance that in future quarters USNG will not make use of such
Other Natural
Gas-Related Interests.
Term
Structure of Natural Gas Futures Prices and the Impact on Total Returns.
Several
factors determine the total return from investing in a futures contract
position. One factor that impacts the total return that will result
in investing
in near month Futures Contracts and “rolling” those contracts forward each
month is the price relationship between the current near month contract
and the
next month contract. If the price of near month contract is higher
than the next
month contract (a situation referred to as “backwardation” in the futures
market), then absent any other change there is a tendency for the price
of a
next month contract to rise in value as it becomes the near month contract
and
approaches expiration. Conversely, if the price of a near month contract
is
lower than the next month contract (a situation referred to as “contango” in the
futures market), then absent any other change there is a tendency for
the price
of a next month contract to decline in value as it becomes the near
month
contract and approaches expiration.
As
an
example, assume that the price of natural gas for immediate delivery
(the “spot”
price), was $7 per 10,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu),
and the value
of a position in the near month futures contract was also $7. Over
time, the
price of 10,000 MMBtu of natural gas will fluctuate based on a number of
market factors, including demand for natural gas relative to its
supply. The
value of the near month contract will likewise fluctuate in reaction to a
number of market factors. If investors seek to maintain their holding
in a near
month contract position and not take delivery of the natural gas,
every month
they must sell their current near month contract as it approaches
expiration and
invest in the next month contract.
14
If
the
futures market is in backwardation, e.g., when the expected
price of natural gas
in the future would be less, the investor would be buying
a next month contract
for a lower price than the current near month contract. Hypothetically,
and
assuming no other changes to either prevailing natural gas
prices or the price
relationship between the spot price, the near month contract
and the next month
contract (and ignoring the impact
of
commission costs and the interest earned on Treasuries, cash
and/or cash
equivalents), the value of the next month contract would
rise as it approaches
expiration and becomes the new near month contract. In this
example, the value
of the $7 investment would tend to rise faster than the spot
price of natural
gas, or fall slower. As a result, it would be possible in
this hypothetical
example for the price of spot natural gas to have risen to
$9 after some period
of time, while the value of the investment in the futures
contract would have
risen to $10, assuming backwardation is large enough or enough
time has elapsed.
Similarly, the spot price of natural gas could have fallen
to $5 while the value
of an investment in the futures contract could have fallen
to only $6. Over
time, if backwardation remained constant, the difference
would continue to
increase.
If
the
futures market is in contango, the investor would be buying
a next month
contract for a higher price than the current near month
contract.
Hypothetically, and assuming no other changes to either
prevailing natural gas
prices or the price relationship between the spot price,
the near month contract
and the next month contract (and ignoring the impact of
commission costs and the
interest earned on cash), the value of the next month contract
would fall as it
approaches expiration and becomes the new near month contract.
In this example,
it would mean that the value of the $7 investment would
tend to rise slower than
the spot price of natural gas, or fall faster. As a result,
it would be possible
in this hypothetical example for the spot price of natural gas to have
risen to $9 after some period of time, while the value
of the investment in the
futures contract will have risen to only $8, assuming contango
is large enough
or enough time has elapsed. Similarly, the spot price of
natural gas could have
fallen to $6 while the value of an investment in the futures
contract could have
fallen to $7. Over time, if contango remained constant,
the difference would
continue to increase.
Historically,
the natural gas futures markets have experienced periods of contango
and backwardation. Because natural gas demand is seasonal, it
is possible for
the price of Futures Contracts for delivery within one or two months to
rapidly move from backwardation into contango and back again
within a relatively
short period of time of less than one year. While the investment
objective of
USNG is not to have the market price of its units match, dollar
for dollar,
changes in the spot price of natural gas, contango has impacted
the total return
on an investment in USNG units during the past quarter relative
to a
hypothetical direct investment in natural gas. For example, an
investment made
in USNG units on June 30, 2007 and held to September 30, 2007
decreased, based
upon the changes in the closing market prices for USNG units
on those days, by
12.14%, while the spot price of natural gas for immediate delivery
during the
same period increased by 1.4% (note: this comparison ignores
the potential costs
associated with physically owning and storing natural gas). This period of
contango did not meaningfully impact USNG’s investment objective of having
percentage changes in its per unit NAV track percentage changes
in the price of
the Benchmark Futures Contract since the impact of backwardation and
contango tended to equally impact the percentage changes in price
of both USNG’s
units and the Benchmark Futures Contract. It is impossible to predict with
any degree of certainty whether backwardation or contango will
occur in the
future. It is likely that both conditions will occur during different
periods
and, because of the seasonal nature of natural gas demand, both
may occur within
a single year’s time.
Natural
Gas Market.
During
the third quarter of 2007, natural gas prices in the United States
were impacted
by several factors. At the beginning of the quarter, the amount
of natural gas
in storage was at higher than average levels versus the previous
five years. The
summer weather in the United States was moderate through much
of the quarter. A
major use of natural gas in summer months is the production of
electricity for
residential and commercial buildings. A major variable in the
use of natural gas
for electricity production for residential or commercial buildings
is weather,
as it impacts the use of air conditioners and thus can cause
wide swings in peak
demand for electricity. The mild weather had the effect of reducing
the rate at
which the storage levels of natural gas fell. During the entire
quarter, the
seasonally adjusted inventory levels of stored natural gas remained
above
five-year averages. As a result of all the factors mentioned above, the
natural gas market in the United States remained reasonably well
supplied. The
price of natural gas remained fairly range-bound for most of the quarter in
the $6.00 to $7.00 level. Prices ranged from a low of $5.50 to
a high of $7.30
per MMbtu with an average price of $6.41. However, prices rose at the very
end of the quarter. This
may
have been due to concerns about the hurricane season and its
impact on the Gulf
of Mexico production sites, or a reaction to the rapidly rising
price of crude
oil. In addition, the end of the third quarter brings the natural
gas market
closer to the start of winter, a time when demand for natural
gas is very
high.
Critical
Accounting Policies
Preparation
of the condensed financial statements and related disclosures in compliance
with
accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America requires the application
of
appropriate accounting rules and guidance, as well as the use of estimates.
USNG's application of these policies involves judgments and actual
results may
differ from the estimates used.
The
General Partner has evaluated the nature and types of estimates that
it makes in preparing USNG's condensed financial statements and related
disclosures and has determined that the valuation of its investments which
are not traded on a United States or internationally recognized futures
exchange
(such as forward contracts and over-the-counter contracts) involves
a critical
accounting policy. This is not currently applicable, as USNG did
not invest in futures contracts other than those traded on a United States
futures exchange during the time period covered by this report. To
the
extent USNG makes such investments in the future, the values used by
USNG for its forward contracts will be provided by its commodity broker
who values over-the-counter contracts based on the present value of
estimated future cash flows that would be received from or paid to
a third party
in settlement of these derivative contracts prior to their delivery
date
and valued on a daily basis. In addition, USNG estimates interest ncome
on
a daily basis using prevailing interest rates earned on its cash and
cash
equivalents. These estimates are adjusted to the actual amount received
on a
monthly basis and the difference, if any, is not considered
material.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
USNG
has
not made, and does not anticipate making, use of borrowings or other
lines of
credit to meet its obligations. USNG has met, and it is anticipated
that USNG will continue to meet, its liquidity needs in the normal
course of business from the proceeds of the sale of its investments,
or from the
Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents that it intends to hold at
all times.
USNG’s liquidity needs include: redeeming units, providing margin deposits
for
its existing natural gas futures contracts or the purchase of additional
natural
gas futures contracts and posting collateral for its over-the-counter
contracts
and payment of its expenses, summarized below under “Contractual
Obligations.”
USNG
currently generates cash primarily from (i) the sale of Creation Baskets
and
(ii) interest earned on Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents. USNG
has
allocated substantially all of its net assets to trading in natural
gas interests. A significant portion of its NAV was held in Treasuries,
cash
and/or cash equivalents that was used as margin for USNG's trading in
natural gas interests. The percentage that Treasuries will bear to
the total net
assets will vary from period to period as the market values of the
natural gas
interests change. The balance of the net assets is held in USNG's Futures
Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments trading account.
Interest
earned on USNG's interest bearing-funds is paid to USNG.
15
USNG's
investment in natural gas interests may be subject to periods of
illiquidity
because of market conditions, regulatory considerations and other
reasons. For
example, commodity exchanges limit the fluctuations in Futures Contracts
prices during a single day by regulations referred to as “daily limits.” During
a single day, no trades may be executed at prices beyond the daily
limit. Once
the price of a natural gas futures contract has increased or decreased
by an
amount equal to the daily limit, positions in the contracts can neither
be taken
nor liquidated unless the traders are willing to effect trades at
or within the
specified daily limit. Such market conditions could prevent USNG from
promptly liquidating its positions in Futures Contracts. For the period
from July 1, 2007 through September 30, 2007, USNG was not forced
to purchase or
liquidate any of its positions while daily limits were in effect; however,
USNG cannot predict whether such an event may occur in the future.
Through
April 10, 2006, all of the expenses of USOF, which is also managed by the
General Partner, and of the General Partner, were funded by its affiliates.
Since April 10, 2006, these expenses have largely been borne by the General
Partner and USOF.
To
date,
all of USNG’s expenses, including its organization and offering expenses
relating to its initial offering of its units, have been paid by
the General
Partner. Fees and expenses associated with the registration of units
with the
SEC subsequent to the initial offering have been borne by USNG. In
addition,
fees and expenses (including directors' and officers' liability insurance)
of
the independent directors of the General Partner, the management
fee to the
General Partner, brokerage fees and licensing fees will be paid directly
by
USNG. If the General Partner and USNG are unsuccessful in raising
sufficient
funds to cover USNG's expenses or in locating any other source of
funding, USNG
will terminate and investors may lose all or part of their
investment.
Market
Risk
Trading
in Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, such
as
forwards, involves USNG entering into contractual commitments to purchase
or sell natural gas at a specified date in the future. The gross
or face amount
of the contracts will significantly exceed USNG's future cash requirements
since
USNG intends to close out its open positions prior to settlement.
As a result,
USNG is generally only subject to the risk of loss arising from the change
in value of the contracts. USNG considers the "fair value'' of its
derivative
instruments to be the unrealized gain or loss on the contracts. The
market risk
associated with USNG's commitments to purchase natural gas is limited
to the
gross face amount of the contracts held. However, should USNG enter
into a
contractual commitment to sell natural gas, it would be required
to make
delivery of the natural gas at the contract price, repurchase the
contract at
prevailing prices or settle in cash. Since there are no limits on
the future
price of natural gas, the market risk to USNG could be unlimited.
USNG's
exposure to market risk depends on a number of factors, including the
markets for natural gas, the volatility of interest rates and foreign
exchange
rates, the liquidity of the Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments markets and the relationships among the contracts held
by USNG. The
limited experience that USNG has had in utilizing its model to trade
in natural
gas interests in a manner intended to track the spot price of natural
gas, as
well as drastic market occurrences, could ultimately lead to the
loss of all or
substantially all of an investor's capital.
Credit
Risk
When
USNG
enters into Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, it
is exposed to the credit risk that the counterparty will not be able
to meet its
obligations. The counterparty for the Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX
and on most other foreign futures exchanges is the clearinghouse associated
with
the particular exchange. In general, clearinghouses are backed by their
members
who may be required to share in the financial burden resulting from
the
nonperformance of one of their members and, therefore, this additional
member
support should significantly reduce credit risk. Some foreign exchanges
are not
backed by their clearinghouse members but may be backed by a consortium
of banks
or other financial institutions.
There
can
be no assurance that any counterparty, clearinghouse, or their members
or their
financial backers will satisfy their obligations to USNG in such circumstances.
The General Partner attempts to manage the credit risk of USNG by following
various trading limitations and policies. In particular, USNG posts margin
and/or holds liquid assets that are approximately equal to the face
amount of
its obligations to counterparties under the Futures Contracts and Other
Natural Gas-Related Investments it holds. The General Partner has implemented
procedures that include, but are not limited to, executing and
clearing trades only with creditworthy parties and/or requiring the
posting of
collateral or margin by such parties for the benefit of USNG to limit
its credit
exposure. The Futures Commission Merchant or any other broker that
may be
retained by USNG in the future, when acting as USNG's futures commission
merchant in accepting orders to purchase or sell Futures Contracts on
United States exchanges, is required by U.S. Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (“CFTC”) regulations to separately account for and segregate as
belonging to USNG, all assets of USNG relating to domestic Futures
Contracts trading. A futures commission merchant is not allowed to
commingle USNG's assets with its other assets. In addition, the CFTC
requires
commodity brokers to hold in a secure account the USNG assets related
to
foreign Futures Contract trading.
As
of September 30, 2007, USNG had deposits in
domestic and foreign financial institutions in the amount of $267,221,027.
This
amount is subject to loss should these institutions cease
operations.
Off
Balance Sheet Financing
As
of
September 30, 2007, USNG has no loan guarantee, credit support or other
off-balance sheet arrangements of any kind other than agreements entered
into in
the normal course of business, which may include indemnification provisions
relating to certain risks that service providers undertake in performing
services which are in the best interests of USNG. While USNG's exposure
under
these indemnification provisions cannot be estimated, they are not
expected to
have a material impact on USNG's financial position.
16
Redemption
Basket Obligation
In
order
to meet its investment objective and pay its contractual obligations
described
below, USNG requires liquidity to redeem units, which redemptions must be
in blocks of 100,000 units called Redemption Baskets. USNG has to
date satisfied this obligation by paying from the cash or cash equivalents
it holds or through the sale of its Treasuries in an amount
proportionate to the number of units being redeemed.
Contractual
Obligations
USNG’s
primary contractual obligations are with the General Partner. In
return for its
services, the General Partner is entitled to a management fee calculated
as a
fixed percentage of USNG’s NAV, currently 0.60% for a NAV of $1 billion or less,
and thereafter 0.50% for a NAV above $1 billion. The General Partner
agreed to
pay the start-up costs associated with the formation of USNG, primarily
its
legal, accounting and other costs in connection with the General
Partner's
contracts with service providers, USNG's registration with the SEC
and other
regulatory filings in connection with the initial public offering
of the units,
and the registration fees paid to the SEC, FINRA and the AMEX in
connection with
such offering.
The
General Partner pays the fees of the custodian and transfer agent, Brown
Brothers Harriman & Co., as well as Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s fees
for performing administrative services, including in connection with
the
preparation of USNG's condensed financial statements and its SEC
and CFTC
reports. The General Partner also pays the fees of USNG’s accountants in
connection with USNG's SEC and CFTC reporting, as well as those of
its marketing
agent. The General Partner and USNG also have entered into a licensing
agreement
with the NYMEX pursuant to which USNG and the affiliated funds managed
by the
General Partner pay a licensing fee to the NYMEX.
In
addition to the General Partner’s management fee, USNG pays its brokerage fees
(including fees to a futures commission merchant), over-the-counter
dealer
spreads, any licensing fees for the use of intellectual property,
registration
and, subsequent to the initial offering, the fees paid to the SEC,
FINRA or any
other regulatory agency in connection with the offer and sale of
the units, as
well as the legal, printing, accounting and other expenses associated
therewith,
and extraordinary expenses. The latter are expenses not incurred
in the ordinary
course of USNG's business, including expenses relating to the indemnification
of
any person against liabilities and obligations to the extent permitted
by law
and under the LP Agreement, the bringing or defending of actions
in law or in
equity or otherwise conducting litigation and incurring legal expenses
and the
settlement of claims and litigation. Commission payments to a futures
commission
merchant are on a contract-by-contract, or round turn, basis. USNG
also pays a
portion of the fees and expenses of the independent directors of
the General
Partner. See Note 3 to the Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
(Unaudited).
The
parties cannot anticipate the amount of payments that will be required
under
these arrangements for future periods, as USNG’s NAVs and trading levels to meet
its investment objectives will not be known until a future date.
These
agreements are effective for a specific term agreed upon by the parties
and have
an option to renew, or, in some cases, are in effect for the duration
of USNG’s
existence. Either party may terminate these agreements earlier for
certain
reasons described in the agreements.
17
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market
Risk
|
Over-the-Counter
Derivatives (Including Spreads and Straddles)
In
the
future, USNG may purchase over-the-counter contracts. Unlike
most of the
exchange-traded natural gas futures contracts or exchange-traded
options on such
futures, each party to over-the-counter contracts bears the credit
risk that the
other party may not be able to perform its obligations under
its
contract.
Some
natural gas-based derivatives transactions contain fairly generic
terms and
conditions and are available from a wide range of participants.
Other natural
gas-based derivatives have highly customized terms and conditions
and are not as
widely available. Many of these over-the-counter contracts are
cash-settled
forwards for the future delivery of natural gas- or petroleum-based
fuels that
have terms similar to the Futures Contracts. Others take the form of
“swaps” in which the two parties exchange cash flows based on pre-determined
formulas tied to the spot price of natural gas, forward natural gas
prices or natural gas futures prices. For example, USNG may enter
into
over-the-counter derivative contracts whose value will be tied
to changes in the
difference between the spot price of natural gas, the price of Futures
Contracts traded on the NYMEX and the prices of other Futures Contracts
that may be invested in by USNG.
To
protect itself from the credit risk that arises in connection
with such
contracts, USNG may enter into agreements with each counterparty
that provide
for the netting of its overall exposure to its counterparty,
such as the
agreements published by the International Swaps and Derivatives
Association,
Inc. USNG also may require that the counterparty be highly rated and/or
provide collateral or other credit support to address USNG’s exposure to the
counterparty.
USNG
may
employ spreads or straddles in its trading to mitigate the differences
in its
investment portfolio and its goal of tracking the price of the
Benchmark Futures Contract. USNG would use a spread when it chooses to
take
simultaneous long and short positions in futures written on the
same underlying
asset, but with different delivery months. The effect of holding
such combined
positions is to adjust the sensitivity of USNG to changes in
the price
relationship between futures contracts which will expire sooner
and those that
will expire later. USNG would use such a spread if the General
Partner felt that
taking such long and short positions, when combined with the
rest of its
holdings, would more closely track the investment goals of USNG,
or if the
General Partner felt that it would lead to an overall lower cost
of trading to
achieve a given level of economic exposure to movements in natural
gas prices.
USNG would enter into a straddle when it chooses to take an option
position
consisting of a long (or short) position in both a call option
and put option.
The economic effect of holding certain combinations of put options
and call
options can be very similar to that of owning the underlying
futures contracts.
USNG would make use of such a straddle approach if, in the opinion
of the
General Partner, the resulting combination would more closely
track the
investment goals of USNG or if it would lead to an overall lower
cost of trading
to achieve a given level of economic exposure to movements in
natural gas
prices.
During
the period from April 18, 2007 through September 30, 2007, USNG
did not employ
any hedging arrangements since all of its investments were made
over an
exchange. Therefore, USNG was not exposed to counterparty
risk.
Controls
and Procedures
|
Disclosure
Controls and Procedures.
USNG
maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed
to ensure that
material information required to be disclosed in USNG’s periodic reports filed
or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified
in the SEC’s
rules and forms.
The
duly
appointed officers of the General Partner, including its chief
executive officer
and chief financial officer, who perform functions equivalent to those
of a principal executive officer and principal financial officer
of
USNG if USNG had any officers, have evaluated the effectiveness
of USNG’s
disclosure controls and procedures and have concluded that the
disclosure controls and procedures of USNG have been effective
as of the end of
the period covered by this quarterly report.
Change
in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.
There
were no changes in USNG’s internal control over financial reporting during
USNG’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are
reasonably
likely to materially affect, USNG’s internal control over financial
reporting.
18
Part
II.
|
OTHER
INFORMATION
|
Risk
Factors
|
There
has
not been a material change from the risk factors previously
disclosed in USNG's
Registration Statement on Form S-1, which was declared effective
by the SEC
on April 18, 2007.
Other
Information
|
Monthly
Account Statements
Pursuant
to the requirement under part 4.22 of the Commodity Exchange
Act, each month
USNG publishes an account statement for its unitholders, which
includes a
Statement of Income (Loss) and a Statement of Changes in NAV.
The account
statement is filed with the SEC on a current report on Form
8-K pursuant to
Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and posted each month on USNG’s
website at www.unitedstatesnaturalgasfund.com.
Exhibits
|
Listed
below are the exhibits which are filed or furnished as part
of this quarterly
report on Form 10-Q (according to the number assigned to them in Item 601
of Regulation S-K):
Exhibit Number | Description
of Document
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
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|
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||
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*
Filed herewith
**
Furnished herewith
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned
thereunto
duly authorized.
United
States Natural Gas Fund, LP (Registrant)
By:
Victoria Bay Asset Management, LLC, its general partner
|
By:
/s/ Nicholas D. Gerber
|
Nicholas
D. Gerber
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
DateDate: November
13, 2007
|
By:
/s/ Howard Mah
|
Howard
Mah
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
DateDate: November 13,
2007
|
19