U.S. Oil-rig Count Rises For a 19th Straight Week, But Rise Is Modest

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil climbed by 2 to 722 rigs this week. That marked a 19th weekly rise in a row, but the increase was the smallest weekly rise of the year. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, climbed by 7 to 908, according to Baker Hughes. Oil prices appeared unfazed in the wake of the data. July West Texas Intermediate crude was up 62 cents, or 1.3%, to $40.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, unchanged from where it traded before the data.