Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week cut oil rigs for a fifth week in the last six, data showed on Wednesday, a sign drillers were still waiting for higher prices before returning to the well pad. Drillers removed three oil rigs in the week ended Dec. 23, bringing the total rig count down to 538, oil services company Baker Hughes Inc said in its closely followed report. That decrease brings the total rig count down to about a third of the 1,499 oil rigs operating in same week a
