POLL-US natgas stocks seen down 139 bcf in wkly EIAs

NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas storage
levels are expected to fall 139 billion cubic feet when weekly
data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is
released on Wednesday, according to a Reuters poll.

The report will be issued a day early this week on
Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) due to the Christmas
holiday on Thursday.

In the survey of 17 industry traders and analysts,
withdrawal estimates for the week ended Dec. 19 ranged widely
from 113 bcf to 162 bcf. For the same week last year, stocks
fell an adjusted 153 bcf, while the five-year average decline
for that week is 132 bcf.

The median withdrawal in the survey was 140 bcf.
(Reporting by Joe Silha)