As traders and analysts continued to mull the balance implications of a weekly injection that fell on the high side of estimates, recently volatile natural gas futures prices lost further ground in early trading Friday. The October Nymex contract was down 11.5 cents to $5.220/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 83 Bcf into natural gas storage for the week ended Sept. 10, higher than the 70s Bcf print predicted by major surveys.

In addition to overshooting estimates, the build also fell to the bearish side of the five-year average for the period, analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) said in a note to clients early Friday. Still, U.S. stockpiles ended the period at a roughly 7% deficit to the...