Baker Hughes data show a third straight weekly fall in active U.S. oil-drilling rigs

Baker Hughes
BKR,
-1.02%
on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell for a third week in a row, down by two to 588 this week. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes those drilling for natural gas, declined by three to 748, according to Baker Hughes. Oil prices continued to trade higher, with the May West Texas Intermediate crude contract
CLK23,
+0.61%
up 32 cents, or 0.4%, at $82.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.