NEW YORK—Natural-gas prices surged Thursday as government data showed that supplies in storage facilities, already relatively limited, shrank more than expected last week. High demand for the heating fuel, the result of unusually cold weather, has boosted prices 23% this year and reduced natural-gas stockpiles, prompting fears that supplies could stay exceptionally low even after winter ends. At 1.686 trillion cubic feet, natural-gas supplies are at their lowest for this time of year in a decade, analysts said. About 237 billion cubic feet of gas was pulled from storage in the week ended Feb. 7, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Thursday. That was 8 bcf more than a Wall Street Journal survey indicated analysts had expected. Futures prices shot above $5 a million British thermal units after the report’s release and settled up 8.3% at $5.223 per mmBtu. “What a very explosive reaction,” said Teri Viswanath, director of […]