Investing.com - Natural gas futures started the week in positive territory on Monday, as updated forecasting models pointed to above-average temperatures covering most of the country over the next two weeks.
That should help boost early summer cooling demand for the fuel.
Front-month U.S. natural gas futures jumped 5.2 cents, or around 1.8%, to $2.943 per million British thermal units (btu) by 10:15AM ET (1415GMT).
The commodity lost around 2.4% last week.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on early summer cooling demand.
Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to this week's storage data due on Thursday. Analysts forecast an increase in a range between 83 and 93 billion cubic feet (bcf) for the week ended June 8.
That compares with a build of 92 bcf in the preceding week, an increase of 78 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 91 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 1.817 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
That figure is 79 bcf, or around 30.5%, lower than levels at this time a year ago, and 512 bcf, or roughly 22%, below the five-year average for this time of year.
Record high domestic production levels have overshadowed the fact that stocks in storage are well below their seasonal averages for this time of year.