The U.S. oil benchmark broke above $40 a barrel Thursday for the first time this year, highlighting the market’s rebound from its lowest levels in more than a decade. Since falling as low as $26.21 a barrel on Feb. 11, U.S. oil prices have mounted a furious rally in recent weeks, surging more than 50% amid expectations that low prices would force producers to curtail output and the global glut that has plagued the market for most of the last two years would begin to abate. The rally has also been fueled by a weakening…