Baker Hughes Data Show U.S. Oil-rig Count Down a Second Week In a Row

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell by 4 to 759 rigs this week. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also declined by 6 to 940, according to Baker Hughes. Oil prices showed little reaction, with October West Texas Intermediate crude up 23 cents, or 0.5%, from Thursday at $47.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was nearly flat from levels seen before the data, when prices posted modest gains as traders weighed the potential supply and demand impact of Hurricane Harvey in the Gulf of Mexico.