Oil Prices Extend Gains After Rig Counts Fall, According To Baker Hughes

Overall U.S. rig counts pulled back for the week, helping to support gains in crude-oil prices on Friday. The number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell by 1 to 765 rigs this week, while those drilling for gas declined by 3 to 189, bringing the overall oil-and-gas count to 954 for the week, according to Baker Hughes. September West Texas Intermediate crude rose 35 cents, or 0.7%, at $49.37 a barrel, ticking slightly higher after the rig-count data were released. Falling rig counts may ease some of the worries that U.S. shale drillers are undercutting a global agreement led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut global production and lift crude prices off historic lows. U.s. oil producers have been cited as the biggest headwind to such efforts.