U.S. oil drilling rig count steady after 8 weeks of hikes -Baker Hughes

Aug 26 (Reuters) - The number of U.S. oil drilling rigs were unchanged this week after eight weeks of consecutive rises, according to a closely followed report on Friday, although traders and analysts expect the rig count to keep rising given the recovery in crude prices. The rig count remained steady at 406 in the week to Aug. 26, compared with 675 a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said. . Before this week, the rig count rose by 76 since the week e