After rallying in the previous session, natural gas futures eased lower early Thursday ahead of a government inventory report widely expected to show a triple-digit injection into Lower 48 stocks. The July Nymex contract was down 2.0 cents to $3.007/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Estimates ahead of this week’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, suggest the agency could reveal a triple-digit build in U.S. natural gas stocks during the week ended May 21.

A Bloomberg poll as of Wednesday showed a median estimate of 106 Bcf, with predictions ranging from 99 Bcf to 109 Bcf. Results of a Reuters survey, meanwhile, ranged from injections of 96 Bcf to 110 Bcf, with a median build of 106 Bcf. A Wall Street Journal survey landed at an...