With traders and analysts continuing to mull the balance implications of the latest government inventory data, and with updated forecasts failing to impress following weeks of mild weather to start the year, natural gas futures remained under pressure early Friday.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The February Nymex contract was off 3.7 cents to $3.238/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET. March was down 3.1 cents to $3.093.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an 82 Bcf withdrawal from U.S. natural gas storage facilities for the week ended Jan. 13, a decisively bearish result when compared to historical norms.

The five-year average for the period is a withdrawal of 156 Bcf, while the year-earlier period saw a 203 Bcf pull. Total Lower 48 working gas in underground storage stood at 2,820...