The number of US oil rigs in operation keeps tumbling. The latest Baker Hughes rig count data showed that the total number of US rigs in operation — which includes both oil and gas rigs — fell by 35 last week, to 1,840 from 1,875. This report is usually released on Friday afternoons, but was released on Monday due to last week's Christmas holiday. This is down from 1,920 for the week ended December 5. Oil rigs in use fell by 37 last week, while gas rigs actually rose by 2. For the week ending December 12, the number of oil rigs in use fell by 27, which at that time was the single biggest weekly decline in two years. ... (full story)