Oil prices fall as U.S. drillers rise

Oil prices declined for a sixth straight session Friday as the U.S. oil rig count resumed its rise following its first dip in roughly four months in the previous week.

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday that the number of rigs operating in U.S. fields added by 9 to 450 this week. At this time last year, there were 572 rigs in operation.

Analysts said markets were also weighed down by traders pulling out money from futures ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday, which is seen as a risk to markets, according to the Reuters.

Meanwhile, speculations that whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be able to implement its promised production-cut deal also dampened investor sentiment, amid media reports that Saudi Arabia threatened to raise oil output steeply to bring prices down if Tehran refused to limit its production.

OPEC members announced plans in late September in Algiers to cut production down to a set target of no more than 33 million barrels per day, but also said it didn' t expect the plan to go into effect until the Nov. 30 meeting in Vienna.

The West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 0.59 U.S. dollar to settle at 44.07 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for January delivery decreased 0.77 dollar to close at 45.58 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem