09:25 AM EDT, 03/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Natural gas futures dropped early on Monday as the spring shoulder season takes hold while inventories are bloated following a mild winter.

Gas for April delivery was last seen down US$0.04 to US$1.61 per million British thermal units.

The drop comes as domestic demand is low amid spring temperatures, with long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service seeing the big markets of the east and Midwest with seasonal or better temperatures over the next two weeks, keeping inventories high.

"It's cool enough overall to prevent surpluses from increasing further, although not cold enough to meaningfully decrease them either," NatGasWeather noted.

The Energy Information Administration last week said inventories of the fuel stood at 2.33-trillion cubic feet, 41% above the five year average, with just days remaining prior to the start of the injection season.