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Oil rig count rises for a 4th straight week
(REUTERS/Balazs Koranyi)
The US oil-rig count rose by 14 to 371 this week, a fourth straight week-over-week rise, according to Baker Hughes.
This tally has steadily climbed since it bottomed in May, indicating that producers activated rigs as crude prices also rose.
The gas-rig count fell by one to 88, and miscellaneous rigs rose by two to three, taking the total up 15 to 462.
Last week, the tally of active rigs rose by six. The gas rig count rose by one, taking the total up seven.
The world's two largest oilfield services companies this week said they believed the oil market may have bottomed.
Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar said in the company's earnings statement released on Wednesday that it expects to see a "modest uptick" in the rig count during the second half of the year.
And, Schlumberger on Friday said it believed "the North America market has turned."
Amid steep cost reductions and higher oil prices versus the start of the year, producers are betting that a rebound is underway.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices are lower on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined further after the rig-count data, sliding by as much as 1.85% to $43.95 per barrel in New York.
Earlier this week, data from the Energy Information Administration showed that inventories are still historically high for this time of the year, despite a ninth straight weekly drop.
This is the latest chart of the oil rig count:
(Andy Kiersz/Business Insider)
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