Oil prices dropped Friday amid ample supplies of global crude.

　　The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery moved down 70 cents to settle at 46.05 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery decreased 1.07 dollars to close at 49.61 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.

　　The weekly report of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) continued to weigh on the market. According to the report released Wednesday, US crude supplies last week climbed 4.7 million barrels to 455.4 million, 95.9 million barrels more than a year before.

　　The oil prices pared some loss in the afternoon session as data showed oil producers cut rig counts this week.

　　Oil service company Baker Hughes said Friday that the drop of 13 oil rigs this week brings the total rig counts down to 662, the lowest since mid-July.

　　On the economic font, the US Labor Department reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 173,000 in August, well below market consensus of 223,000.

　　The unemployment rate, however, edged down to 5.1 percent, beating market estimates of 5.2 percent and logging the lowest level in seven years.