Natural gas futures were up slightly early Thursday as traders awaited updated government inventory data for further evidence — or not — of the tighter supply/demand balance implied by the week-earlier print. The September Nymex contract was up 6.2 cents to $8.616/MMBtu at around 8:55 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Estimates ahead of this week’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, show expectations centered around a lighter-than-average build in the upper teens to low 20s Bcf. The latest print covers net changes to inventories during the week ended July 22.

Results of Bloomberg’s survey as of Wednesday showed a median injection projection of 19 Bcf, with estimates ranging from 15 Bcf to 28 Bcf. Reuters’ poll produced injection estimates that spanned...