Cracks are emerging in the U.S. oil machine. Shale oil’s relentless production growth is easing, with growth next month set to be the weakest since May, according to the Energy Information Administration. Increases in the Permian Basin, the largest area, will also be the slowest in nine months. That would be a boon for OPEC, which is trying to boost crude prices but faces an immense challenge from companies pumping unprecedented amounts of oil in the U.S. Drilling activity in America has also been slowing, with the oil rig count plunging the most in almost three years last week, as the effects of the price slump at the end of 2018 linger. The price crash “hurt many of those companies and now is having consequences […]