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NEW YORK, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices ended lower on Friday after data showed U.S. rig count increased for the second straight week.
In the previous session, oilfield services company Baker Hughes said that the number of rigs operating in U.S. fields rose by 3 to 328 in the week ending June 10, after 9 were added the week before. At the same time last year, drillers had 635 oil rigs online.
Moreover, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Sunday that the country is seeking to boost crude output by 600,000 to 700,000 barrels a day over five years, according to media reports.
The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery lost 19 cents to settle at 48.88 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery decreased 19 cents to close at 50.35 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem
