Natural gas traded higher early Wednesday even as long-term forecasts expect cool weather for big eastern markets.
Gas for June delivery was last seen up $0.02 to US$2.92 per million British thermal units.
The rise comes even as long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service expect Texas and eastern states to see cooler than seasonal temperatures over its six to 10 day outlook, cutting into electricity demand to power air conditioning.
Still, high inventories of the fuel are weighing on prices, with the Energy Information Administration last week reporting gas stocks stood at 6.6% above the five-year average, keeping prices rangebound.