U.S. Oil-Rig Count Rose by 12 in Latest Week

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. were up 12 this week to 759, Baker Hughes, a GE company, said Friday.

The U.S. oil-rig count is typically viewed as a proxy for activity in the sector. After peaking at 1,609 in October 2014, low oil prices put downward pressure on production, and the rig count fell sharply. The oil-rig count had generally been rising since June 2016 before reaching a plateau in August 2017.

The nation's gas-rig count was down by one to 188 in the past week, according to oil-field services company Baker Hughes.

The U.S. offshore-rig count was down by two from last week to 17, which is four less than a year ago.

Oil prices were up 1% at $66.13 a barrel in afternoon trading Friday.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 26, 2018 13:28 ET (18:28 GMT)