U.S. oil prices surged 8.3% as traders jettisoned bearish bets against the market after data showed a steep drop in the number of rigs drilling for oil in the country—a sign that crude production may be starting to ebb. The news of falling domestic production facilities came against a backdrop of otherwise bearish supply-and-demand fundamentals and macroeconomic indicators on Friday, including a continued widening gap between production and consumption for oil from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and a weaker-than-expected reading on fourth-quarter U.S. economic growth. Indeed, many analysts believe oil prices have further to fall as global production continues to outpace demand through the first half of this year. Still, for one day the bullish production news drove traders to quickly […]