The oil-rig count in the United States increased by one this week to 675. This is the sixth consecutive week of increased rigs. Prior to these recent increases, the number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs had fallen significantly since oil prices began to slide down last year.
Friday, WTI was up 6.9% to $45.49 following the rig-count report, as a surprise one-day rally extended to a second day. Oil prices surged Thursday as the stock market reversed its recent sharp decline.
The increased price of oil follows concerns about China’s economy, coupled with persistently high oil output from the United States and OPEC. Despite these recent price increases, there are still about 58% fewer rigs working since a peak of 1,609 in October 2014. The United States offshore rig count fell to 30 in the latest week, down two from last week and 36 a year earlier. For all rigs total, including natural gas, this week’s total rig count was down eight to 877.