US Oil Rig Count Falls By Nine

U.S. energy companies cut nine oil drilling rigs this week, the biggest reduction since May 2016, following a recent decline in crude prices.

The oil rig count fell to 860 in the week to Aug. 24, Baker Hughes, a GE company (NYSE: BHGE), said in its weekly report.

U.S. crude futures, trading about $69 per barrel, were down about 7% so far this quarter, heading for the first quarterly decline since the second quarter last year. Prices this week were on track to end a run of seven straight weekly declines on signs that Iran sanctions may limit global supply and that a trade war may not curb China’s appetite for U.S. crude.