Analysts and traders expect government data scheduled for release Thursday to show that natural-gas inventories fell by more than usual for this time of year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that 249 billion cubic feet of gas were withdrawn from storage during the week ended Feb. 14, according to the average forecast of 13 analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. For the Feb. 14 week, the median estimate is for a decline of 248 bcf. Estimates range from a fall of 235 bcf to a drop of 267 bcf. The estimate for Feb. 14 is above last year’s 127-bcf withdrawal from storage for the same week. If the storage estimate is correct, inventories as of Feb. 14 will total 1.437 trillion cubic feet, 40% below the year-ago level and would be the lowest level for February since 2004. Write […]