By Aisha Al-Muslim

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by four this week to 747, Baker Hughes, a GE company, reported.

The U.S. oil-rig count is typically viewed as a proxy for activity in the sector. After peaking at 1,609 in October 2014, low oil prices put downward pressure on production and the rig count fell sharply. The oil-rig count has generally been rising over the past year.

The nation's gas-rig count rose by three to 183 in the past week, according to oil-field services company Baker Hughes.

The U.S. offshore-rig count was down by one from last week to 19, which is 3 less than a year ago.

Oil prices were less than 0.5% higher at $57.29 a barrel in afternoon trading Friday.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 15, 2017 13:29 ET (18:29 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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