Natural gas futures retreated in early trading Friday as analysts mulled the balance implications of an early start to injections in the latest government inventory data. The May Nymex contract was down 11.3 cents to $5.529/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Day/day forecast changes were “quite negligible” heading into Friday’s trading, with the American and European weather models holding steady in their respective projections, according to Bespoke Weather Services.

Gas-weighted degree day totals for the 15-day projection period leaned below-normal overall, the firm said.

“Still no extremes are seen in the upcoming pattern, which is often needed to move the needle much at this time of year,” Bespoke said. 

In terms of the supply/demand balance, Bespoke said it...