The U.S. oil rig count has dropped for six consecutive weeks. The number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs, which is viewed as a proxy for activity in the oil industry, has fallen sharply since oil prices started falling last year. After a streak of modest growth, the rig count has now declined for six consecutive weeks. U.S. oil prices recently were up 0.4% to $49.61 and have been hovering around the $50 mark. There are now about 62% fewer rigs from a peak of 1,609 last October. According to Baker Hughes, the number of gas rigs fell by six to 189. The U.S. offshore rig count was 32 in the latest week, up two from last week and down 26 from a year ago. For all rigs, including natural gas, the week’s total declined by 14 to 795.