Baker Hughes BKR on Friday reported that the weekly number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell by two to 586 this week. The number of oil rigs had fallen by three in the previous week. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes those drilling for natural gas, saw a much larger decline of 17 to stand at 731, according to Baker Hughes. Oil prices traded lower, but remained above the key $70 level. The June West Texas Intermediate crude contract CLM23 was down 60 cents, or 0.9%, at $70.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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