October 2016 has ushered in the best result for a sequential change in average US land rig day rate—as aggregated across all rig classes and all region—since October 2015, according to Platts RigData’s Day Rate Report.

With only one region reporting a sequential decrease of -1% or more, this month saw the US average land rig day rate decline by -0.55%. The last time the Day Rate Report cited a sequential drop of less than that was -0.47% exactly 1 year ago.

Given that all of the regions and major rig classes are still showing sequential declines and that no drillers are voicing expectations of an increase in day rates even next year, it’s a given that the best they can hope for during the rest of this year is a continuing deceleration of the rate of descent.

Some comfort can be had in recognizing that a lessening of the quarter-to-quarter decline has occurred with each successive quarter this year. Two more months at the current pace of shrinking Q-to-Q descent could get day rates to level off by year-end.

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