Crude oil is getting smoked

Crude oil is getting smoked.

Near 10:00 a.m. ET, West Texas Intermediate crude was over 3% lower at around $49.87 per barrel.There was no obvious catalyst for the mover lower.

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.

At 1:00 p.m., we'll get the latest oil rig counts data from Baker Hughes, which has been tumbling for weeks now.

Here's a chart showing the plunge:

NOW WATCH: Nationwide's Super Bowl commercial about dead children is about corporate profits ... in a way that we can all appreciate