Baker Hughes Data Show U.S. Oil-rig Count Up a 15th Week In a Row

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by nine to 697 rigs this week. That marks a 15th weekly climb in a row. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also climbed by 13 to 870, according to Baker Hughes. June West Texas Intermediate crude was up 18 cents, or 0.4%, at $49.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange for the session-- just a few pennies below the level it traded at before the data.