Crude oil is getting smoked

Crude oil is getting smoked.

Near 3:30 p.m. ET, West Texas Intermediate crude was down by more than 6%, around $48.33 per barrel.

The latest data from Baker Hughes showed that the US oil rig count fell by 21 to 813 this week, compared to 41 last week.

A rally Thursday pushed WTI back above $50 as prices rose on news that Saudi Arabia was bombing the positions of Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, which has a key narrow strait through which oil traffic passes.

As Citi analysts forecast in a note Thursday, the spike faded because "the odds of disruption remain low; there is no indication that either side in the conflict has the means or the intention of disrupting these flows."

Here's a chart showing the plunge:

fut_chart (5)

(Finviz)

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