Baker Hughes said the number of active drilling rigs in the United States fell by two to 540 in the week to 1 Aug, extending the slow pull-back by shale producers. The oil-directed fleet declined by five to 410, the lowest since 2021, while gas rigs rose by two to 124. One miscellaneous rig was added, leaving the rotary total little changed overall. The contraction was led by the Permian Basin, where rig activity slipped by two to 256. Eagle Ford lost one rig to 29, while the Cana Woodford dropped four to 13. The Williston and DJ Niobrara holdings were unchanged at 30 and nine rigs, respectively, underscoring selective drilling cuts rather than a broad retreat. Outside North America, Baker Hughes counted 657 rigs in July, down five from June and 39 from a year earlier, suggesting a wider easing in upstream spending. Analysts said the U.S. slowdown keeps rig utilisation about 44 units below the year-earlier level in the Permian, reinforcing expectations of tempered oil-supply growth in the second half.