(Reuters) – U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a fifth week in a row to its lowest in nearly a year as independent producers follow through on plans to cut spending on new drilling with the government cutting its growth forecasts for shale output. Drillers cut nine oil rigs in the week to March 22, bringing the total count down to 824, the lowest since April 2018, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. That is the first time the rig count has declined for five weeks in a row since May 2016 when it fell for eight consecutive weeks. More than half the total U.S. oil rigs are in the […]