Mubasher: The number of US oil rigs retreated for the eighth week in a row, said Baker Hughes Oil Services in its weekly report on Friday.

The decline indicates the continued effects of the oil price decline which began in June 2014.

Oil rigs in the week ended 13 May reached 318 rigs down from 660 rigs last year.

Baker Hughes noted that the current number of oil rigs in the US is the lowest recorded since October 2009.