09:29 AM EDT, 09/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Natural gas futures moved higher early on Thursday ahead of fresh storage date as forecasts continue to expect a warm start to October. Gas for October delivery was last seen up US$0.08 to US$2.94.

The rise comes as long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service see all states with warmer than seasonal temperatures in its six to 14 day outlook. While the outlook may offer some late cooling demand, temperatures in northern markets will be well below midsummer highs.

"Natural gas prices have moderated again in line with our Q3 low scenario target, and while we do not expect Q4 to bring even lower prices, we don't think the near-term weakness is over. With weekly storage expectations mostly in line with seasonal norms this week and total gas in storage set to reach at least 3.9 Tcf in our view, we see a weight on prices for what remains of this season and likely the early part of the withdrawal season," Christopher Louney, a commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

The Energy Information Administration will release its weekly survey of inventories of the fuel stored for winter use, with Celsius Energy expecting a 76-billion cubic feet rise in stocks. The agency last week pegged inventories at 3.43-trillion cubic feet, 6.3% above the five-year average,