U.S. energy companies this week cut oil rigs for the first week in three even though crude prices hovered near their highest level since the spring of 2015. Drillers cut 5 oil rigs in the week to Jan. 5, bringing the total count down to 742, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. In the prior two weeks, drillers did not add or remove any rigs. The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is much higher than a year ago when only 529 rigs were active. Energy companies boosted spending plans in 2017 as crude prices started recovering from a two-year crash. The increase in U.S. drilling lasted 14 months before stalling in the second half of last year as some producers trimmed their 2017 spending plans after prices turned softer over the summer. In […]