WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices rallied Friday amid data showing the U.S. rig count dropped for the first time in seven weeks.
April WTI crude added $1.92, or 3.2%, to settle at $62.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices were up 1.3% for the week.
Baker Hughes said the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell by four to 796 this week.
Meanwhile, upbeat U.S. jobs data raised the prospects for demand from the world's largest consumer of energy products.
The U.S. created 313,000 new jobs in February, the biggest gain since mid-2016. However, the 12-month increase in worker pay declined to 2.6% from 2.8%, a sign that wages may not be rising as quickly as imagined.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX