As traders eyed a potentially record-challenging storage withdrawal following widespread winter weather last week, expiring February natural gas futures continued a sharp rebound in early trading Thursday. 

The front month, set to roll off the board early next week, was up 13.5 cents to $2.776/MMBtu at around 8:46 a.m. ET. With higher volume, the March contract was up 1.3 cents at $2.275.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest weekly natural gas storage report, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, will offer insights into the supply and demand impacts from the Arctic blast that hammered the Lower 48 earlier this month.

Estimates suggested a withdrawal surpassing 300 Bcf in magnitude is in play, which would rank among the largest on record going back to 2010, EIA...