Expectations for future activity also fell, as most firms do not expect energy prices to return to profitable levels this year. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s first-quarter Energy Survey revealed that Tenth District energy activity decreased at a steep pace and expectations for future activity dropped further. “District energy activity fell sharply during the first quarter of 2020, with our index dropping to its lowest level since we began the survey in early 2014,” Chad Wilkerson, Oklahoma City Branch executive and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said in a written statement. “Expectations for future activity also fell to their lowest level since late 2014, as most firms do not expect energy prices to return to profitable levels this year.” The drilling and business activity index fell from -48 to -81, the lowest reading in survey history (since early 2014), indicating a continued, deep […]