POLL-US natural gas stockpiles likely fell by 43 billion cubic feet last week

March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms likely pulled a 43 billion cubic feet of natural gas from storage last week, according to the average estimate in a Reuters poll released on Wednesday.

That figure compares with a withdrawal of 64 bcf during the same week a year ago and a five-year average decline of 64 bcf for this time of year.

In the prior week ended February 27, utilities pulled 132 bcf of gas from storage. USOILN=ECI

If correct, the forecast for the week ended February 27 would decrease stockpiles to 1.843 trillion cubic feet. That level would be about 8% above the same week a year ago and about 1.2% below the five-year (2021-2025) average for the week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly storage report at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) on Thursday.

There were about 111 heating degree days (HDDs) last week, compared with a 30-year normal of 151 for the period, data from financial firm LSEG showed.

HDDs measure the number of degrees a day's average temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) to estimate demand to heat homes and businesses.

Reuters polled 11 analysts, whose estimates ranged from withdrawals of 54 bcf to 35 bcf, with a median decrease of 44 bcf.

Early estimates for the week ending March 13 ranged from a withdrawal of 44 bcf to an injection of 37 bcf, with an average increase of 8 bcf.

Those figures compare with a withdrawal of one bcf during the same week last year and a five-year average decrease of 29 bcf.

Following is a list of poll participants. All figures are in billion cubic feet: