Here comes the Baker Hughes rig count ...

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Oil driller Baker Hughes will release its weekly tally of US oil and gas rigs just after 2 p.m. ET.

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Last week, the oil rig count fell to a new six-year low, by 8 to 343. It was the fifth straight weekly decline.

The gas rig count fell by 1 to 88, and so the total rig count was down 9 to 431.

When Baker Hughes released its quarterly earnings on Wednesday, it said it expects the North American rig count to stabilize in the second half of this year. It also cautioned that this doesn't mean drilling activity will meaningfully increase.

Crude oil prices advanced steadily over the past week, gaining about 7% through Friday. Ahead of the rig count data release, West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York were down 0.5% and near $45.80 per barrel.

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