09:24 AM EDT, 03/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Natural gas traded up 4.4% early on Monday as forecasts see two weeks of below-seasonal temperatures for most states on the way, offering a late-season demand boost amid swollen inventories.

Gas for April delivery was last seen up US$0.07 to US$1.73 per million British thermal units.

The rise comes as long-term forecasts see seasonal or cooler temperatures for most states over the next six to 14 days, boosting heating demand ahead of the April 1 start of the injection season. The weather could help cut into inventories that were last week pegged at 37.1% above the five-year average by the Energy Information Administration.

"After 7-weeks of much lighter than normal demand, cooler vs normal weather systems will track across the northern and central US through the end of March for closer to seasonal demand ... The pattern would lean more strongly bullish if not for the southern US being comfortable most days, as well as the pattern for the first week of April not looking quite cold enough," NatGasWeather noted.