Baker Hughes Reports Sixth Straight Weekly Decline In U.S. Oil Rig Count

Oil prices continued to trade higher after data from Baker Hughes showed that the number of active U.S. oil-drilling rigs edged down for a sixth week in a row. They fell by 12 to 498 as of Friday. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes natural-gas rigs, was down 18 at 619. Compared with last year, the total U.S. rig count has fallen by 924, with oil rigs down by 725. March crude was at $33.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 13 cents, or 0.3%. It was at $33.57 before the data.