Natural gas futures hovered in positive territory early Thursday as traders assessed a mixed weather outlook against continued lighter production readings while they awaited the latest government inventory data.

EIA Storage Estimates

Following a 2.0-cent loss Wednesday, the May Nymex contract was up 5.0 cents to $1.762/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET. The federal storage report is slated for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

NatGasWeather said the mild temperatures and light national demand that defined the week so far would extend through today. 

“A swing to stronger than normal national demand” was expected Friday through the weekend, as chilly air and storms were forecast to “sweep across the central, northern and eastern U.S, with rain, snow and lows of 20s-30s.” However, “national demand will...