Brent oil surged to $58 a barrel on Tuesday. It is now 24 percent higher than it was just a few weeks ago, meeting the technical definition of a bull market. (Some perspective: Prices are still down 50 percent since June.) One possible reason for the recent surge: an industry in despair. U.S. drillers idled 94 rigs last week, the most in data going back to 1987, according to Baker Hughes. In the past eight weeks, 352 rigs were idled. BP on Tuesday said it will reduce spending to $20 billion this year, compared with previous guidance of as much as $26 billion. The cuts bring renewed focus to rig counts and raise questions about how low prices can go and still sustain the U.S. oil boom. U.S. Rigs Fall to a Three-Year Low Source: Bloomberg The history of oil prices follows a golden rule: […]