While traders and analysts continued to mull the implications of a leaner-than-expected build in the latest government inventory data, natural gas futures were trading close to even early Friday. After dipping as low as $6.079/MMBtu in after-hours trading, the August Nymex contract was off 0.1 cents to $6.296 at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a 60 Bcf injection into Lower 48 storage for the week ended July 1, a bullish miss versus expectations for a print in the mid-70s Bcf.

Total Lower 48 inventories ended at 2,311 Bcf as of July 1, a 322 Bcf deficit to the five-year average.

“After back-to-back bearish EIA reports, we were blindsided by a very bullish one,” Bespoke Weather Services said of the latest EIA...