Oil prices surged over 4 percent on Thursday, with Brent briefly touching $50 a barrel for the first time in two weeks, after a surprisingly huge drawdown in U.S. crude stocks as Gulf Coast imports slumped to a record low. Brent LCOc1 rose $2.01, or 4.2 percent, to settle at $49.99 a barrel, its highest close in almost three weeks. U.S. crude CLc1 ended at $47.62 per barrel, up $2.12, or 4.7 percent, the biggest daily percentage gain for U.S. futures since April. U.S. crude stocks dropped 14.5 million barrels last week to 511.4 million barrels, the biggest weekly drop in stockpiles since January 1999, according to government data. Imports into the U.S. Gulf Coast fell to 2.5 million barrels per day, the lowest since data collection […]