As updated forecasts pointed to a mild start to February, and as traders prepared to digest the latest government inventory data, natural gas futures were down a few cents early Friday. The February Nymex contract was off 3.6 cents to $2.455/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Friday could report the largest withdrawal from stockpiles of the season to date, according to projections.

NGI’s model predicted a 191 Bcf withdrawal for the week ended Jan. 15. That would compare with a 97 Bcf pull recorded in the year-ago period and a five-year average withdrawal of 167 Bcf.

A Bloomberg survey landed at a median expected pull of 175 Bcf, with projections ranging from decreases of 158 Bcf to 191 Bcf. A Reuters poll found estimates...