US active drilling rigs at 604, up 1 from the previous week

U.S. active drilling rigs rose by one to 604 in Baker Hughes' weekly count for the week ending November 6, up from 603 the prior week and 56 rigs above the year-earlier level. The increase came as Brent crude spot prices fell 10.9% between October 30 and November 3. Baker Hughes ($BKR) compiles the U.S. and Canadian rig counts weekly, defining an active rig as one drilling on site at least four of seven days, excluding rigs that are moving or performing non-drilling work. The rig count is a gauge of field drilling activity rather than actual oil and gas output. The modest gain matters because it signals producers kept adding drilling activity even as crude prices slumped. Next, watch whether the price decline prompts operators to slow rig additions in coming weeks.