09:16 AM EDT, 06/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Natural gas prices eased early on Monday as a heat dome that pushed temperatures in the Upper Midwest and Northeast to record highs last week and raised air-conditioning demand abated.

Gas for July delivery was last seen down US$0.02 to US$2.69 per million British thermal units.

The drop comes as temperatures in northern states fell, though long-term forecasts see above-seasonal heat for the southern and east coast states.

"The southern 2/3 of the US will be quite hot for the 8-15-day forecast period with most areas experiencing highs of 90s to 100s. The northern 1/3 of the US will be nice to warm with highs mostly in the 70s and 80s. Overall, strong to very strong national [cooling] demand is expected to continue," NatGasWeather noted.

In its weekly inventory report released Friday, a day later than usual due to the Juneteenth holiday, the Energy Information Administration said stocks of gas stored for winter use rose by 71-billion cubic feet, near expectations, leaving inventories at 3.05-trillion cubic feet, 23% above the five-year average.