With updated forecast models projecting less demand for the next two weeks, and with traders awaiting the potential price impacts of the latest round of government inventory data, natural gas futures eased lower in early trading Thursday. The May Nymex contract was down 2.5 cents to $2.667/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is set to release its weekly storage report at 10:30 a.m. ET, with market expectations pointing to a smaller injection than last week’s reported 61 Bcf build. 

A Bloomberg survey as of early Thursday produced a median prediction of 47 Bcf based on 13 estimates ranging from 39 Bcf to 56 Bcf. Reuters polled 18 analysts, who came up with the same range of estimates but with a median increase of 49 Bcf. NGI’s model...