US drillers have cut oil rigs in operation to the lowest level in more than six years amid a protracted slump in crude prices.
Drillers idled 26 oil rigs in the week to February 19, bringing the total of idle rigs in the US alone to 413, according to the latest data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. Drillers have idled rigs for nine straight weeks.
The move comes as the latest report from the Energy Information Administration showed that US crude stockpiles climbed to a fresh weekly high, driven by a jump in imports.
A glut of supply, in the wake of a renaissance in US shale output, has pushed oil prices sharply lower since mid-2014
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