With mixed trends in the overnight weather data and the market awaiting the latest round of government inventory data, natural gas futures were hovering close to even in early trading Thursday. The February Nymex contract was up 0.4 cents to $2.731/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Traders and analysts are predicting another triple-digit withdrawal from U.S. natural gas stocks in the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET. A Bloomberg survey found estimates ranging from withdrawals of 120 Bcf to 141 Bcf, with a median of a 129 Bcf decrease.

NGI modeled 130 Bcf withdrawal for this week’s report, which covers the week ending Jan. 8.

A withdrawal near estimates would shrink the year/year storage surplus but fall shy of five-year...