Coming off a stretch of day/day declines going back to last week, natural gas futures recouped some of their recent losses in early trading Thursday as traders awaited the latest round of government inventory data. The November Nymex contract was up 1.8 cents to $2.545/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

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Estimates this week have the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting a near-average injection into Lower 48 gas stocks when it rolls out its latest storage report at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Bloomberg survey found estimates ranging from 75 Bcf to 86 Bcf, with a median of 78 Bcf, while a Reuters poll found estimates ranging from 74 Bcf to 92 Bcf and a median of 76 Bcf.

A Wall Street Journal survey found estimates from 73 Bcf to 92 Bcf and an average of 80 Bcf. NGI estimated an...