1st LD Writethru: Oil prices extend gains as rig count drops

Oil prices continued to advance Friday as data showed more rigs were pulled out of oil fields in the United States this week.

Data from service company Baker Hughes showed the number of rigs drilling for oil in the country fell by 9 percent this week.

Crude prices were slammed Wednesday by data showing U.S. crude inventories increased to 30-year high.

U.S. crude stockpiles increased 6.3 million barrels to 413.1 million, 55 million barrels more than a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Energy Department 's statistical arm.

An analyst said that oversupply could not disappear overnight, but there were signs that low price is slowing the production.

The upbeat U.S. economic data also supported the crude prices.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 257,000 in January, well above market expectations of 230,000, including the biggest increase in private-sector job creation since 1997, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.7 percent, said the U.S. Labor Department Friday.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery gain 1.21 U.S. dollars to settle at 51.69 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange,while Brent crude for March delivery moved up 1.23 dollars to close at 57.8 dollars a barrel. Endite