With the latest government inventory data expected to further expand the storage surplus and potentially reveal an unseasonably early net injection, natural gas futures fell in early trading Thursday.

The April Nymex contract was off 0.8 cents to $1.691/MMBtu as of 8:47 a.m. ET. May was down 1.4 cents to $1.831.

Estimates for the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, were pointing to a small net injection into Lower 48 stocks for the period ended March 15.

The median estimate submitted to a Reuters survey called for a 5 Bcf injection, with responses ranging from a 5 Bcf withdrawal to a 17 Bcf build. Estimates submitted to Bloomberg ranged from a 1 Bcf withdrawal to a 17 Bcf build, with the median an injection of 6 Bcf....