Analysts expect government data scheduled for release Thursday to show natural-gas inventories last week fell far less than the average amount for this time of year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that storage levels fell by 41 billion cubic feet of gas during the week ended Dec. 11, according to the average forecast of 17 analysts, brokers and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The EIA is scheduled to release its storage data for the week on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST. For the Dec. 11 week, the median estimate is for a decline of 41 bcf. Estimates range from a draw of 27 bcf to a draw of 56 bcf. The estimate for Dec. 11 compares to 61 bcf drawn from storage for the same week last year and a five-year average drain of 120 bcf for that week. If the storage estimate […]