Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE: BHI) announced its weekly rig count data, but what is interesting is that the latest data shows a 2009-end with comparisons to a 2008-end. If you saw the declines in the start of 2009, you might be relieved that the rig counts at the end of 2009 in some cases are almost on par with the levels seen at the end of 2008. The drops in the US on a year-over-year basis were the largest standouts here. The Oil Services HOLDRs (NYSE: OIH) and the United States Oil (NYSE: USO) are the two ETFs we are watching on the news.
The company announced that the international rig count for December 2009 was 1,024, down 1 from the 1,025 counted in November 2009, and down 54 from the 1,078 (call that -5%) counted in December 2008.
The international offshore rig count for December 2009 was 281, down 3 from the 284 counted in November 2009 and down 10 from the 291 counted (call that -3%) in December 2008. While not flat, they are not down massively.
The US rig count was up on a monthly basis, but still way down on a year over year basis. For December 2009 was 1,172, up 65 from the 1,107 counted in November 2009 and down 610 from the 1,782 (call that -34%) counted in December 2008.
The Canadian rig count was also up monthly, yet down year over year. For December 2009 was 313, up 36 from the 277 counted in November 2009 and down 48 from the 361 (call that -13%) counted in December 2008.
The worldwide rig count also showed a monthly gain of course, and a drop globally for the year. For December 2009 was 2,509, up 100 from the 2,409 counted in November 2009 and down 712 from the 3,221 (call that -22%) counted in December 2008.
Comparing data on a year over year basis is interesting for comparison sake, but the real story is still in the monthly changes. The Oil Services HOLDRs (NYSE: OIH) is up 2.2% at $132.27 and the United States Oil (NYSE: USO) is down 0.3% at $40.59 on the news. NYMEX WTI Crude at 12:08 PM EST is trading down $0.08 at $82.57 per barrel.
JON C. OGG
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