*Data from services firm Baker Hughes show that the US averaged 204 active drilling rigs for October. This is the highest monthly average figure since activity collapsed in May as firms slashed capex in response to a collapse in oil prices and demand (MEES, 19 June).
*Weekly figures continue to show steady gains, with the rig count for the week to 30 October up a further 10 at 221, the 6th straight week of gains and up 49 on the mid-August nadir. That said, such nascent gains are puny when put in the context of the preceding slide (see charts). And, with firms showing little-to-no sign of reversing the swingeing capex cuts made earlier this year (MEES, 6 November), any further gains in the coming months will likely also be modest. (CONTINUED - 289 WORDS)
