With the May contract expiry expected to set the tone for trading over the next couple days, natural gas futures eased lower early Monday as lingering spring chills proved insufficient to push prices higher.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The May Nymex contract was down 3.2 cents to $2.201/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET. June was off 2.1 cents to $2.387.

The impending expiration of the May contract, with options expiry set for Tuesday, is likely to dictate front-month price action as traders position themselves heading into the contract rollover, according to EBW Analytics Group analyst Eli Rubin.

Forecasts as of early Monday pointed to demand gains for the next 10 days of the outlook, EBW estimates showed. 

However, weather-driven demand remained poised to drop off notably between the current storage...