After rallying throughout the week, natural gas futures eased lower in early trading Thursday as traders awaited updated government inventory data, expected to show a lean increase in Lower 48 gas stocks. The June Nymex contract was down 2.4 cents to $2.936/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Predictions point to a leaner-than-average injection in the single digits or teens from this week’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) natural gas storage report, scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Bloomberg survey of nine analysts as of Wednesday showed injection estimates ranging from 6 Bcf to 19 Bcf, with a median build of 8 Bcf. Reuters polled 18 analysts, whose estimates ranged from an injection of 6 Bcf to 28 Bcf, with a median build of 9 Bcf. A Wall Street Journal poll also...