WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures fell Friday, trimming strong recent gains as data showed the U.S. oil rig count jumped last week.
The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose by nine this week to 738, Baker Hughes said. It was the buggest one-week jump since June.
The natural gas rig count remained unchanged with a total of 169 this week.
Nymex December oil futures settled at $56.74 a barrel, down 0.8%. Prices eased from 2-year highs seen earlier this week.
The University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing a bigger than expected pullback in consumer sentiment in the month of November.
The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for November came in at 97.8 compared to the final October reading of 100.7. Economists had expected the index to dip to 100.0.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX