Baker Hughes Reports An Eighth-straight Weekly Decline In U.S. Oil Rig Count

Oil prices continued to climb after data Friday from Baker Hughes showed that the number of active U.S. oil-drilling rigs edged down for an eighth week in a row. They fell by 28 to 439 as of Friday. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes natural-gas rigs, was down 30 at 541. Compared to last year, the total U.S. rig count has fallen by 885, with oil rigs down by 673. March crude was at $29.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $3.28, or 12.5%. It was trading at $29.25 before the data.