Natural gas futures were trading close to even early Friday amid no major changes to the weather outlook overnight, while analysts continued to mull the implications of the latest government inventory data. The May Nymex contract was up 1.2 cents to $2.534/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 a 20 Bcf injection into storage inventories for the week ending April 2. This compared with major surveys coalescing around a build in the low 20s Bcf. NGI projected a 23 Bcf injection. Total working gas in storage as of April 2 stood at 1,784 Bcf, which is 235 Bcf below-year ago levels and 24 Bcf below the five-year average, according to the agency.

“Weather has not been kind to the gas market recently, with degree days...