The number of U.S. oil-drilling rigs, which is viewed as a proxy for activity in the oil industry, has fallen sharply since oil prices started falling last year. After a streak of modest growth, the rig count has now declined for eight consecutive weeks. There are now about 63% fewer rigs from a peak of 1,609 last October. According to Baker Hughes, the number of gas rigs rose by one to 193. The U.S. offshore rig count was 35 in the latest week, up two from last week and down 20 from a year ago. For all rigs, including natural gas, the week’s total remained unchanged at 787. Meanwhile, production in the U.S. remains robust, above nine million barrels a day, despite a slowdown in output in recent months. Inventory data earlier this week showed domestic inventories rose by eight million barrels last week, the largest increase since the […]