Oil Prices Hold Losses As Baker Hughes Reports 17th Weekly Rise In U.S. Oil-rig Count

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil climbed by 9 to 712 rigs this week. The oil-rig count has climbed every week so far this year, except for one. The latest data showed a 17th weekly rise in a row. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, rose 8 to 885, according to Baker Hughes. June West Texas Intermediate crude was down 18 cents, or 0.4%, at $47.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange for the session. It traded at $47.58 before the data.