Baker Hughes BKR on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell by 10 to 599 this week. That followed declines in each of the two previous weeks. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes those drilling for natural gas, fell by 12 to 759, according to Baker Hughes. Oil prices continued to trade lower, with the March West Texas Intermediate crude contract CLH23 down $1.98, or 2.6%, at $73.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, weighed down in part by a sharp rise in the U.S. dollar.
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