Undeterred by the prospect of a hefty triple-digit build in the latest round of government inventory data, natural gas futures rode their recent upward momentum to early gains Thursday. 

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

After climbing 9.3 cents in the previous session, the November Nymex futures contract was up another 19.0 cents to $7.120/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

Predictions ahead of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 10:30 a.m. ET natural gas storage report point to a net injection in the triple digits for the week ended Sept. 30.

A Bloomberg survey of seven analysts produced a range of injection estimates from 95 Bcf to 129 Bcf, with a median build of 125 Bcf. Reuters polled 15 analysts, whose estimates ranged from injections of 94 Bcf to 131 Bcf, with a median forecast of 111...