03:32 PM EDT, 10/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The number of oil rigs in the US increased by one in the week ended Friday, according to data compiled by energy services company Baker Hughes ( BKR ) , while West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped below $70 a barrel.

The tally for oil rigs rose to 482 from 481, while gas lost two rigs to 99. Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at four. A year earlier, the US had 502 oil, 118 gas and four miscellaneous rigs in operation, company data showed.

Overall, 585 rigs were operating in the US this week, down from 624 a year earlier. Among US states, top producer Texas lost two rigs to 283, while Oklahoma added one.

Across North America, oil and gas rigs decreased by three to 802 from a week earlier and were down from 822 a year earlier. The count in Canada dropped by two to 217 rigs.

WTI futures fell 2.1% at $69.20 a barrel in late trading Friday, while Brent fell 1.9% to $73.07 a barrel. WTI headed for a weekly loss of 8%, and Brent slumped 7%.

"Oil prices were headed for their biggest weekly loss in more than a month on worries of lower demand," D.A. Davidson said in a report.

Earlier this week, the International Energy Agency trimmed its global oil demand growth outlook for 2024 amid weakness in China, while the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its 2024 and 2025 projections.

"Market outlooks released by OPEC and IEA this week suggested sluggish demand and a sizable supply surplus for the next year, which is keeping pressure on oil prices," ING said in a note.

Price: 36.27, Change: -0.62, Percent Change: -1.67