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(Bloomberg) — Oil extended gains after capping the biggest weekly advance in almost four years amid signs drilling is slowing in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer.
Futures climbed as much as 3.3 percent in New York after a second weekly increase through Feb. 6. Drillers cut the number of rigs in service by 83 to 1,140, data from Baker Hughes Inc. showed. That’s the lowest level since December 2011. A volatility index gauging price fluctuations in West Texas Intermediate rose last week to to the highest since 2009. Oil slid almost 50 percent last year as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut supply, signaling it would fight to maintain market share against U.S. producers pumping crude at the fastest rate in more than three decades. Venezuela is seeking meetings with OPEC members to establish the next steps to halt price fluctuations, Asdrubal Chavez, the nation’s oil minister, said in a statement. WTI for March delivery climbed as much as $1.71 to $53.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $52.70 at 10:59 a.m. Sydney time. The contract gained $1.21 to $51.69 on Feb. 6. The volume of all futures traded was about 75 percent above the 100-day average. Prices rose 7.2 percent last week. Brent for March settlement increased as much as $1.26, or 2.2 percent, to $59.06 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It rose $1.23 to $57.80 on Feb. 6. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $5.86 to WTI.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pratish Narayanan at pnarayanan9@bloomberg.net Aaron Clark