09:26 AM EDT, 08/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Natural gas prices fell early on Thursday ahead of fresh storage data as forecasts see cool weather on the way for major Eastern markets.

In its first day as the active contract, gas for October delivery was last seen down US$0.06 to US$2.04 per million British thermal units.

The drop comes as long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service see most of the eastern half of the United States to see seasonal or cooler temperatures for the six to 10 day outlook.

The Energy Information Administration will release its weekly survey of inventories of the fuel later on Thursday morning, with a smaller-than-average rise in stocks expected.

"For today's EIA weekly storage report, there's a decent spread in survey averages between 34-39 Bcf but with the most notable at 39 Bcf and likely where market expectations are. It was cooler than normal over much of the eastern 1/2 of the US, although impressively hot over Texas. We expect a build of +36-37 Bcf versus the 5-year average of +43 Bcf," NatGasWeather noted.