Amid inconsistency from the weather models, natural gas futures were up slightly in early trading Thursday as traders shifted focus to the latest release of government inventory data. The January Nymex contract was up 1.4 cents to $2.691/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Predictions ahead of this week’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, have been pointing to a triple-digit withdrawal around 120 Bcf.

A Bloomberg survey produced a withdrawal range from 105 Bcf to 138 Bcf, with a median of 119 Bcf. A Wall Street Journal poll had the same results, while a Reuters poll produced a median draw of 120 bcf. NGI projected a 133 Bcf draw.

The estimates compare with the 97 Bcf decrease recorded in the year-ago period and a five-year...