Losses For Oil Worsen As U.S. Oil Drilling-rig Count Barely Budges

Oil futures lost more ground after data from Baker Hughes showed that the number of active U.S. oil-drilling rigs fell by 1 to 594 as of Friday. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes natural-gas rigs, was unchanged at 787. Compared to last year, the total rig count has fallen by 1,140, with the oil rig count down 1,001. December crude fell to $44.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 79 cents, or 1.7%. It was trading at $44.80 just before the data.