U.S. energy companies cut nine oil drilling rigs this week, the biggest reduction since May 2016, following a recent decline in crude prices. The oil rig count fell to 860 in the week to Aug. 24, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. U.S. crude futures, trading around $69 per barrel, were down about 7 percent so far this quarter, heading for the first quarterly decline since the second quarter last year. Prices this week were on track to end a run of seven straight weekly declines on signs that Iran sanctions may limit global supply and that a trade war may not curb China’s appetite for U.S. crude. [O/R] The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is much higher than a year ago when 759 rigs were active as energy companies have been ramping […]