Following cooler trends in recent weather model runs, natural gas futures eased lower early Thursday as traders awaited the latest round of government inventory data. The July Nymex contract was off 0.9 cents to $3.324/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Surveys ahead of this week’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, call for a below-average build in the mid to upper 60s Bcf for the week ended June 18.

Reuters polled 17 analysts, whose estimates ranged from a build of 56 Bcf to 79 Bcf, with a median injection of 68 Bcf. NGI also modeled a 68 Bcf build. 

Thirteen estimates submitted to Bloomberg as of early Thursday produced a tighter range of predictions from 56 Bcf to 72 Bcf, with a median injection of 65 Bcf.

Last year, EIA...