Black gold is finally getting its shine back

See that? That little purple squiggle in the corner of the chart below? Thats’s an oil rally. Prices for the US crude benchmark are up about 15% since Wednesday (and the international equivalent, Brent crude, is up 19% in the same span).

It’s not much—and some aren’t so sure it will last—but, coming after months of precipitous decline, it’s something.

One possible reason: Oil companies are idling some of their rigs in the US, as stockpiles rise and cost-cutting spreads. That might have given black gold a boost.