U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for the first time in three weeks as production growth forecasts from shale, the country’s largest oil fields, continue to shrink. Drillers cut eight oil rigs in the week to April 18, bringing the total count down to 825, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Thursday. Baker Hughes released the report a day early this week due to the Good Friday holiday. The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is still a bit higher than a year ago when 820 rigs were active. The rig count fell for the past four months and production growth in […]