DUESSELDORF, Dec 14 (Reuters) - German gas storage operators consider a gas shortage this winter to be increasingly unlikely, though it cannot be completely ruled out, storage operators group INES said on Thursday.

According to the operators, gas storage facilities were 96% full at the start of December, which is an above-average level.

"In our analyses, gas shortages occur in extremely cold temperatures, the likes of which we haven't seen in Germany for several years," said INES managing director Sebastian Heinermann.

"Despite the recent cold temperatures and the resulting sharp rise in gas consumption, we are likely to get through this winter well," he added.

Boosting storage was one of Germany's key responses to being mostly cut off from Russian pipeline gas last year, along with buying more liquefied natural gas (LNG) and cutting consumption, which last winter brought down prices from earlier spikes.

INES' members, which include VNG Gasspeicher, Uniper and RWE, hold 25% of European Union gas storage capacity. (Report by Tom Kaeckenhoff Writing by Miranda Murray)