Despite expectations for a rare surplus-shrinking result from the latest government inventory data, natural gas futures skidded lower in early trading Thursday as forecasts pointed to mild springtime demand that would preserve a healthy storage cushion.

The May Nymex contract was down 6.1 cents to $2.123/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

Expectations for Thursday’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, are for a larger-than-average withdrawal in the mid-50s Bcf for the week ended March 24.

Withdrawal estimates submitted to Reuters as of Wednesday ranged from 48 Bcf to 61 Bcf, with a median draw of 54 Bcf. Bloomberg’s poll showed a similar range and landed at a median pull of 55 Bcf. The Wall Street Journal found an average...