U.S. oil futures settled higher on Friday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September WTI settled at $41.60 a barrel. The U.S. oil benchmark is now down nearly 19% from its recent high of $51.23 a barrel in June.
The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 1 at 463 for the week of July 29, 2016. The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was up 3 at 374. There are 290 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 80.8 percent of all drilling activity. Year-over-year exploration in the U.S. is down 43.7% for oil.
