Traders are watching for signs that robust U.S. crude-oil production is easing. Photo: Associated Press Oil prices rose to their highest level of the year on Thursday on expectations the oversupply of crude oil may be shrinking and concerns about violence in the Middle East. Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled up $1.58, or 2.8%, to $57.74 a barrel, the highest settlement since Dec. 12, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, rose $2.12, or 3.4%, to $64.85 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest level since Dec. 9. In the U.S., signs of elevated demand for gasoline fuels boosted prices, along with a reported drop in crude-oil supplies at a key storage hub. Stockpiles of gasoline in the U.S. fell more than expected last week to the lowest level of the year, the Energy Information […]