03:30 PM EDT, 06/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The number of oil rigs in the US fell by one in the week through Friday, while crude prices were on track for a third consecutive weekly increase on heightened supply concerns amid the developments in the Middle East.

The count for oil dropped to 438 rigs from last Friday's 439 tally, while gas lost two rigs to 111, data compiled by energy services company Baker Hughes ( BKR ) showed. Miscellaneous rigs increased by two to five.

The US had 485 oil, 98 gas and five miscellaneous rigs in operation a year earlier, the data showed.

As of Friday, a total of 554 rigs were operating in the US, down from 555 the week before and 588 a year earlier. Among US states, top producer Texas lost four rigs for the week, while Oklahoma lost two. The counts in New Mexico and Wyoming rose by two each.

Across North America, the oil and gas rigs count was unchanged at 693, as Canada's tally increased by one to 139 in the week.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.6% at $73.92 a barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade, while Brent fell 2.4% to $76.93.

US President Donald Trump will allow two weeks for diplomacy before deciding whether to launch a strike against Iran amid its ongoing conflict with Israel, news outlets reported.

Trump's announcement has "injected heightened volatility" into the market, said Mukesh Sahdev, Rystad Energy's global head of commodity markets for oil.

"For now, there's no panic buying from China, which is helping to keep Brent capped below $80 per barrel," Sahdev said. "But diesel markets are reacting sharply to fears of a supply crunch, with cracks in the Atlantic Basin expected to strengthen and mounting pressure east of the Suez Canal."

Earlier this week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries trimmed its global oil demand projections for this year, while the International Energy Agency reduced its projections for world oil consumption for 2025 and 2026.

Price: 39.14, Change: +0.16, Percent Change: +0.40