Shale Drillers Idle US Rigs at Fastest Pace in Almost Two Years

(Bloomberg) -- Drilling in the US shale patch declined at the fastest pace in almost two years as mounting international trade tensions threaten to stifle energy demand. 

The number of US rigs drilling for crude — a closely followed metric that can point to future oil output — fell by nine to 480 this week, the biggest drop since June 2023, according to data released by Baker Hughes Co. on Friday. 

Domestic oil prices have been hovering around the low $60s-a-barrel, below levels that energy executives have said they need to make new drilling profitable. The rig-fleet decline reflects the anticipation of weakening demand in the US shale patch, despite President Donald Trump’s push to supercharge US production, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Scott Levine.

“Rig count has recently been steady,” Levine said. “This is a bigger drop than what we’ve seen recently.”

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