US drillers have shed more oil rigs for the third week in a row, as the prolific Permian marked the biggest drop, according to a weekly tally from energy services company Baker Hughes.

The count of oil rigs declined by seven to 684, while gas rigs remained unchanged at 130.

Overall the rig count is down to 817, a decrease of five from last week, while year-over-year the count is down 264.