Natural gas futures eased lower early Friday as balmy temperatures weighed on prices, overshadowing a historically large withdrawal in the latest government inventory data.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The February Nymex contract was off 4.0 cents to $2.531/MMBtu at around 8:36 a.m. ET, with March down 2.0 cents to $2.160.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest weekly storage report showed a whopping 326 Bcf withdrawal — among the largest on record going back to 2010 — for the week ended Jan. 19.

The withdrawal slashed the surplus to the five-year average to 142 Bcf, versus 320 Bcf in the week-earlier period. However, the 326 Bcf withdrawal figure was in line with pre-report expectations and failed to move the needle for prices.

“This draw accounts for the third largest draw...