U.S. energy companies left the oil rig count unchanged this week as the rate of growth has slowed over the past month or so with a decline in crude prices from late May through late June. U.S. crude prices were on track to fall almost 4 percent this week as escalating U.S.-China trade tensions threatened to hurt oil demand after last week rising to their highest level since November 2014. The number of active oil rigs held steady at 863 in the week to July 13, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. More than half the total oil rigs are in Permian basin in west Texas and eastern New Mexico, the nation’s biggest shale oil field. Active […]