* U.S. oil rig count down for 7th week in row
* Oil prices up as much 2 pct on day
* U.S. crude still for steepest weekly loss in 10 weeks
(New throughout, updates market activity and commentary after
oil rig data)
By Koustav Samanta and Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose nearly 2
percent on Friday as traders covered short positions after four
days of sharp losses, and as data showed the U.S. oil rig count
fell for a seventh straight week.
U.S. crude and Brent remained on track for steep weekly
losses after the International Energy Agency predicted on
Tuesday that the global market would remain oversupplied through
2016. ID:nL8N12D17P
U.S. crude was on track for its biggest weekly decline in 10
weeks, with Brent headed for its steepest in eight weeks.
U.S. crude CLc1 rose 75 cents to $47.13 per barrel by 1:47
p.m. EDT (1747 GMT). It was down 5 percent on the week.
Brent LCOc1 for December delivery rose 50 cents to $50.23
a barrel, still down 4 percent on the week.
On Monday, prices tumbled as much as 5 percent on concern
that record pumping of crude by OPEC producers was adding to a
global crude glut.
Prices rose early on short-covering, and buying continued
after Baker Hughes (N:BHI) Inc BHI.N reported that the U.S. oil rig
count dropped by 10 to 595 this week, the lowest since July
2010. ID:nL1N12G1BG
"People are paying closer attention to the rig count to
indicate a drop in U.S. production. Oil rigs down to 595 - that
is a primary support," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition
Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
But, ultimately, the overall fundamentals of oversupply are
bearish, McGillian said. "Until we see a sizeable decline in
storage in the U.S. I think the market will struggle to sustain
any rally."
On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration
(EIA) said the country's crude inventories rose by 7.6 million
barrels last week, more than double the build of 2.9 million
barrels expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. EIA/S
"In light of the large builds in crude oil inventories over
the last two weeks and the significant pull-backs in refinery
utilization rates, I remain bearish," said David Thompson of
Powerhouse, an energy-focused commodities broker in Washington,
who expected crude prices to face resistance at $47.74 a barrel
and $50.92.
Strong equity markets supported crude prices as Wall Street
trended higher after a two-month peak in European share prices.