As traders waited for updated government inventory data to provide fresh clues on the supply/demand balance, natural gas futures sat just shy of even early Thursday. 

Coming off a 12.1-cent swoon in the previous session, the August Nymex contract was down another 2.4 cents to $2.644/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

Estimates for this week’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, point to an injection in the low 80s Bcf, surveys show.

Responses to a Bloomberg survey ranged from 76 Bcf to 89 Bcf, with a median build of 82 Bcf. A Wall Street Journal poll of 14 analysts showed an average predicted build of 82 Bcf. Reuters’ poll produced a median estimate of 81 Bcf. 

NGI also modeled an 81 Bcf injection for the report, which covers...