03:19 PM EDT, 10/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The number of oil rigs in the US dropped by five for the week ended Friday, according to data compiled by energy services company Baker Hughes ( BKR ) .

The tally for oil decreased to 479 from 484 on a weekly basis, while gas added three rigs to 102. Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at four. A year earlier, the US had 497 oil, 118 gas and four miscellaneous rigs in operation, company data showed.

Overall, 585 rigs were operating in the US this week, down from 619 a year earlier. Among US states, top producer Texas added two rigs to 279, while New Mexico lost three.

Across North America, oil-and-gas rigs increased by three on a weekly basis to 808, compared with 799 at the same point last year. The count in Canada grew by five to 223 rigs, largely due to a gain in oil.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.1% at $74.53 a barrel in Friday late afternoon trade, while Brent rose 0.6% to $78.09 a barrel. Both were on track for weekly gains.

Iran recently carried out a missile attack on Israel in retaliation for the latter's killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian commander in Lebanon. In response to a question by reporters whether the US would support Israel striking Iranian oil facilities, President Joe Biden said Thursday "we're in discussion of that."

"Depending on the scale of such a response, it could potentially be significant for oil markets," ING wrote in a Friday note. "Not only due to the immediate impact of losing Iranian barrels but also due to the fact that this scenario risks spilling over into something more extreme, which could potentially lead to a disruption in Persian Gulf oil and (liquefied natural gas) flows through the Strait of Hormuz."

Price: 37.75, Change: +0.20, Percent Change: +0.53