NEW YORK, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices extended their rally Friday, posting some of the biggest two-week gains in recent trading as markets show signs of moving above a floor price.
The price for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, gained 2.75 percent from the previous session to trade at $51.87 per barrel for the March contract early in the trading day. WTI started the year at $52.69 before falling more than 15 percent by the end of January. Prices since the start of February are up nearly 7 percent.
Crude oil prices have lost about half of their value since June as markets swing toward the supply side, driven in large part by a weak global economy and increased production from the United States. Markets have rallied in recent trading days in response to announcements from major energy companies like BP and Royal Dutch Shell of cuts in exploration and production spending because of the weak oil market.
Oil services company Baker Hughes reported Friday the international rig count for January was down 55 from the previous month. In the United States, where shale production is driving market momentum, the number of rigs actively producing or exploring for oil and natural gas was down 86 from December to 1,769.
The decline in exploration and production, the upstream sector, is reflected in announcements of staff reductions from major oil and gas companies. The U.S. Labor Department said Friday about 1,900 jobs were lost in the oil and gas sector since December, though non-farm payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 257,000 in January.
A recent report from Challenger, Grey and Christmas, Inc., found U.S.-based employers announced plans to cut more than 53,000 jobs since the start of the year, with about 40 percent of those tied directly to the slump in oil prices.
The March contract for Brent, the global crude oil benchmark, was up 2.8 percent from the previous day's settle to sell for $58.19 per barrel.
