Oil Falls Further With U.S. Oil-rig Count Up For First Time In 11 Weeks

Oil futures fell further after data from Baker Hughes showed that the number of active U.S. oil-drilling rigs rose by 2 to 574 as of Friday. That was the first weekly increase in 11 weeks. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes natural-gas rigs, was down 4 at 767. Compared to last year, the total rig count has fallen by 1,161, with the oil rig count down 1,004. December crude was at $40.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $1.27, or 3%. It was trading at $40.67 before the data.