The U.S. oil-rig count fell by 12 to 813 in the latest week, according to Baker Hughes Inc., marking the 16th-straight week of declines. The number of U.S. oil drilling rigs–a proxy for activity in the oil industry–has fallen sharply since prices headed south last year. There are now nearly 50% fewer rigs working since a peak of 1,609 in October. That hasn’t yet translated into a drop in actual output, even though it has squelched production capacity. Crude-oil futures held their declines after the data’s release and were recently off 3.2% to $49.79. According to Baker Hughes, gas rigs were down 9 to 233 this week. The U.S. offshore rig count is at 34, down 3 from last week and down 16 from the previous year. For all rigs, including natural gas, the week’s drop was 21 to 1048, and down 761 from 1809 at […]