Data points: 1H spend worse than expected; rig count stabilizing

摘要

Three recent data points indicate the state of the U.S. oil and gas industry this summer and the outlook for the rest of the year. First, the U.S. rig count continues to show signs of stabilizing at a sharply reduced level, according to Baker Hughes. Second, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City found commodity price expectations also have stabilized, although energy companies fear a further oil price drop this fall. Third, Cowen & Co.'s noted midyear spending survey of companies, from majors to small caps, shows they have cut spending more dramatically-by over a third-than was predicted last December, when oil prices began tumbling.