03:29 PM EST, 03/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The number of oil rigs operating in the US declined by two this week, according to data compiled by energy services company Baker Hughes ( BKR ) .

The weekly count for oil fell to 504 from 506, and the tally for gas dropped by four to 115, Baker Hughes ( BKR ) said Friday. Miscellaneous rigs totaled three after edging down by one. A year earlier, the US had 590 oil rigs, 153 gas rigs, and three miscellaneous rigs in operation, the company's data showed.

Overall, 622 rigs were operating in the US this week, down from 746 a year earlier. Among US states, top producer Texas lost eight rigs to 291, while Louisiana's count dropped by two and New Mexico's increased by three.

Across North America, oil-and-gas equipment dropped by 13 to 847, compared with 969 at the same point last year. The count in Canada fell by six to 225 rigs, with the country's tallies for oil and gas each declining by three.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.3% to $77.88 a barrel on Friday afternoon in a week that has seen investors assess rising tensions in the Middle East, according to a Friday note by Australian and New Zealand Banking Group.

The Houthi militant group killed three seafarers in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, according to the US Central Command, marking the first fatal attack against a container ship in the critical Red Sea shipping corridor.

The attack "has seen shipping companies refusing to transit the Red Sea," ANZ said. "The longer shipping times now required by many tankers is resulting in increased oil sitting on ships unavailable to the market."

Meanwhile, demand in the US "looks to be improving," ANZ said. It pointed to a drawdown of 4.5 million barrels in gas inventories through the week ended March 1, according to Energy Information Administration data. "With the US driving season just in the horizon, the market could get even tighter in coming weeks," it wrote.

Price: 30.46, Change: -0.38, Percent Change: -1.22