Oil futures briefly climbed back above $50 a barrel after data from Baker Hughes showed that the number of active U.S. oil-drilling rigs fell 9 to 605 as of Friday. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes natural-gas rigs, was at 795, down 14 rigs. Compared to last year, the total rig count has fallen by 1,135, with the oil rig count down 1,004. Nov. crude climbed back above $50 after the rig data, but was last at $49.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 41 cents, or 0.8%. It was trading at $49.88 just before the data.
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