Natural gas futures remained under pressure early Thursday as traders priced in mild late January temperatures, though an anticipated triple-digit pull in the latest government inventory data also had the potential to influence market sentiment.

The February Nymex contract was off 7.2 cents to $2.798/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

The latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, is expected to reveal a larger-than-average triple-digit withdrawal from Lower 48 stockpiles during the week ended Jan. 12, surveys show.

Withdrawal estimates submitted to Reuters ranged from 140 Bcf to 182 Bcf, with a median of 162 Bcf. A Bloomberg survey showed estimates ranging from 144 Bcf to 188 Bcf, with a 165 Bcf median. NGI modeled a pull of...