Natural gas prices rose early Tuesday as long-term forecasts warm.
Gas for June delivery was last seen up $0.04 to US$2.94 per million British thermal units.
The rise comes as long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service expect hotter than seasonal temperatures for most states other than the Southeast over its six to 10 day outlook, keeping cooling demand high.
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.
"Storage levels are adding to the bearish sentiment as LNG export terminals remain in maintenance allowing us to inject a little extra and hold a surprise surplus to both last year and the 5 year average levels for this time of year," Gary Cunningham, Director of Market Research at Tradition Energy, wrote.