Again, futures contracts help to balance natural gas supplies with demand. Futures trading appears manic. Yet traders are communicating with a special language as they yell and wave their arms. Traders use a series of hand signals and a type of verbal short-hand to indicate whether they're buying or selling and at what price. They yell because they need to be heard in the loud, competitive environment of the trading pit.
Traders wear brightly colored jackets to attract attention.
They may need to grab someone's eye during hectic trading activity, and the color may be enough to do the job. In some cases, jackets of a particular color indicate traders are affiliated with a particular company. Orders to buy and sell are generated by individuals or by trading desks at brokerage or grain firms. Orders tell the broker what quantity and contract month to trade and can indicate the price at which the broker should do business. Other times, the orders tell the broker to do business under certain conditions.