Oil and Gas Rotary Rig Counts: The total number of operating rigs in Canada for the week ending March 25th was 76 oil and 64 gas (totaling 140). In percentage terms, on a month on month (m/m) basis, oil rigs were down 44.9% and gas down 37.5%. On a year on year (y/y) comparison, rigs were up 145.2% for oil and up 28.0% for gas. The combined figure for y/y was +72.8% or 59 rigs.

Oil and Gas Rotary Rig Counts: The total number of operating rigs in the U.S. for the week ending March 25th was 531 oil and 137 gas (totaling 668). In percentage terms, on a month on month (m/m) basis, oil rigs were up 1.7% and gas was up 7.9%. On a year on year (y/y) comparison, rigs were up 63.9% for oil and up 48.9% for gas. The combined figure for y/y was +60.7%, or +253 rigs.

Employment by Industry (U.S.): In March 2022, the total number of seasonally adjusted (SA), non-farm people employed in the U.S. was 150.9 million (M) – an increase of 431,000 (+0.3%) month on month (m/m). When compared to March 2021, total employment is up by 4.5% year on year (y/y). Among the employment sectors that we track at Gerdau, we saw the greatest monthly gain in the leisure and hospitality sector with a growth of 0.7% m/m.

Currency Report: The trade-weighted U.S. Broad Dollar Index posted a reading of 116.4117 in March, up 1.18% m/m, reversing trend after decreasing the last two months. This index value is up 2.70% on a year on year (y/y) basis.

Advance Durable Goods Orders: The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new orders for durable goods in February 2022 decreased by 2.2% month on month (m/m) to $271.5M, following the 1.6% increase in January. The always-volatile nondefense aircraft orders, up 244.6% y/y, influenced this trend significantly.

Producer Price Index: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand grew 0.8% in February 2022 (seasonally adjusted), following the 1.2% increase in January. The index for final demand goods grew 2.4% in February, the largest advance since December 2009, while the index for final demand services were unchanged. Nearly 40 percent of the February increase in prices for final demand goods can be attributed to the index for gasoline, which rose 14.8 percent.