“Unequivocally” not good. Following last week’s surge in initial jobless claims for ‘Shale’ states, Baker Hughes confirms rig counts continue to tumble. The last two weeks have seen the total US rig count fall the most since 2009 (and Canada down 9.3% this week alone). Seemingly confirming this weakness, The Kansas City Fed notes respondents see non-durable (petroleum) demand “sluggish”, and rather awkwardly against the “everything’s great meme,” one respondent exclaims, “demand from oilfield customers is dropping rapidly.” The current US rig count is now the lowest in 5 months.
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