U.S. natgas stocks fall 72 bln cubic feet: EIA ( N ) by Carla Mozee

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Natural-gas futures held steady Friday after the Energy Information Administration reported that inventories of the commodity fell by 72 billion cubic feet for the week ended Dec. 21. UBS estimated a withdrawal between 65 billion cubic feet and 75 bcf. Total stocks now stand at 3,652 trillion cubic feet, up 81 billion cubic feet from the year-ago level and 413 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. February natural gas was up 5 cents, or 1.5%, at $3.46 per million British thermal units, about the same level shortly before the data were released.