09:16 AM EST, 02/12/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Natural gas futures rose early Thursday ahead of fresh inventory data even as long-term forecasts expect mild temperatures for big eastern markets, cutting into heating demand.

Gas for March delivery was last seen up US$0.10 to US$3.26 per million British thermal units.

Long-term forecasts from the National Energy Agency expect nearly all states east of the Rocky Mountains to be warmer than seasonal over its six to 10 day outlook, warming from a cold snap in eastern markets that supported demand.

The Energy Information Administration will release its weekly look at inventories of the fuel, with a sizable draw expect to eastern cold last week.

"Current weather forecasts point to warmer-than-normal weather across the near-term forecast, which gives gas some time to catch up after the storm's impacts on the balance. Yesterday, though, prices gained a bit ahead of what is expected to be another larger storage withdrawal today, with consensus estimates for the report from the EIA indicating a 258 Bcf decline, Christopher Louney, Natural Gas and Gold Strategist at RBC Capital Markets wrote.