Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT – May 23 2023

The number of oil and gas drilling rigs working in the U.S. has slid 6 percent since the end of 2022 and stood at 731 during the second week of May, Baker Hughes, a major oilfield services firm, reported.

Last month, U.S. home sales continued their slide that began in January 2022 and reversed only for a month—in February this year—before resuming their decline.

For the second consecutive month, most small businesses report they have no plans to add workers over the next 12 months, according to a Wall Street Journal survey.

Speculators trading derivatives based on oil and fuel price moves have taken the most bearish positions on oil prices since 2011, according to Bloomberg, indicating they see a recession ahead that will tank oil prices.

On 17 May, the value of China’s yuan shrank both domestically and internationally, rising past the key benchmark of 7 to the dollar, another sign that the Asian giant’s economic recovery has stumbled.

The Nikkei 225 stock index has risen 16 percent this year and the broader Topix index 13.9 percent, making Japan’s equity market a surprise star performer in 2023.

Through April, at least 230 U.S. corporations have filed bankruptcy this year, more than any year’s first third since 2010, The New York Times found.