West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for December delivery settled at $52.64 a barrel on Thursday and traded up more than 2% Friday afternoon at $52.80 shortly before regular trading closed.
The natural gas rig count decreased by five to a total of 172 this week. The count for natural gas rigs is now up by 58 year over year. Natural gas for December delivery traded down about 2.7% at around $2.97 per million BTUs before the count was released and moved only fractionally later on.
The price for Brent crude topped $60 a barrel for the first time in more than two years. Brent traded at $60.26 a barrel briefly in Friday’s trading on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Crude prices have risen as the production cuts from OPEC and its partners have succeeded in draining some of the stockpile glut around the world.
U.S. production remains high as producers and refiners alike take advantage of the $6.00 or so per barrel discount on WTI crude to sell both more crude and more refined products to buyers in Europe and Asia.
Among the states, Texas gained five rigs this week while Oklahoma and Wyoming added one rig each. Louisiana lost three rigs while North Dakota and West Virginia each lost two. Five states lost one rig each: Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.
In the Permian Basin of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the rig count now stands at 379, one more compared with the previous week’s count. The Eagle Ford Basin in south Texas has 65 rigs in operation, unchanged week over week, and the Williston Basin (Bakken) in North Dakota and Montana now has 49 working rigs, down two for the week.
Travel Cards Are Getting Too Good To Ignore
Credit card companies are pulling out all the stops, with the issuers are offering insane travel rewards and perks.
We’re talking huge sign-up bonuses, points on every purchase, and benefits like lounge access, travel credits, and free hotel nights. For travelers, these rewards can add up to thousands of dollars in flights, upgrades, and luxury experiences every year.
It’s like getting paid to travel — and it’s available to qualified borrowers who know where to look.
We’ve rounded up some of the best travel credit cards on the market. Click here to see the list. Don’t miss these offers — they won’t be this good forever.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.