As the market braced for potential price-moving impacts of both updated government inventory data and the prompt month contract expiration Thursday, natural gas futures advanced in early trading. The expiring June Nymex contract was up 22.6 cents to $9.197/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET. July was up 19.4 cents to $9.187.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its 10:30 a.m. ET storage report is expected to reveal a net injection into U.S. natural gas stocks of around 90 Bcf for the week ended May 20, surveys this week show.

The Wall Street Journal’s survey of analysts found an average injection prediction of 90 Bcf. Estimates ranged from increases of 81 Bcf to 103 Bcf. Results of Reuters’ poll ranged from predicted increases of 76 Bcf to 103 Bcf, with a median of 90...