Natural gas futures pared their recent gains early Thursday as traders prepared to digest updated government inventory data that was expected to show a notably larger weekly injection compared to recent reports. The October Nymex contract was down 8.3 cents to $5.377/MMBtu at around 8:55 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

That the October contract began to sell off in Wednesday’s trading after reaching a high of $5.65 signaled that “the explosive rally may be nearing a turning point,” according to analysts at EBW Analytics Group. 

The EBW analysts pointed to revisions to pipeline nominations that showed liquefied natural gas feed gas demand at the Freeport terminal remaining down by more than 1.9 Bcf/d versus levels observed prior to the arrival of Tropical Storm Nicholas along the Texas...