With no major changes to the weather outlook overnight, and with traders awaiting the latest government inventory data to get an updated read on balances, natural gas futures were trading slightly lower early Thursday. The April Nymex contract was off 2.5 cents to $2.791/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Predictions ahead of today’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, have been pointing to a triple-digit withdrawal in the neighborhood of 130-150 Bcf.

A Bloomberg survey found withdrawal estimates ranging from 134 Bcf to 162 Bcf, with a median 148 Bcf decrease. A Reuters poll found pull estimates spanning from 93 Bcf to 150 Bcf and a median estimate for a 135 Bcf decline in stocks. A Wall Street Journal poll, meanwhile, landed at an...