Utilities injected 16 Bcf of natural gas into storage for the week ended July 21, government data released Thursday showed. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) print modestly exceeded expectations, keeping supplies stout and applying pressure on Nymex natural gas futures.

Ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET report, the August futures contract was down 5.0 cents at $2.643/MMBtu. The prompt month slipped further to around $2.630 when the EIA data was released. By 11 a.m. ET, it was down 11.8 cents to $2.575.

Prior to the report, estimates submitted to Reuters ranged from injections of 8 Bcf to 36 Bcf, with a median increase of 15 Bcf. A Bloomberg poll produced a narrower range but with a low of 6 Bcf, and it landed at a median of 14 Bcf. The Wall Street Journal’s survey...