"Crude Crashes To Cycle Lows After Oil Rig Count Surges"

I think we have a prisoner's dilemma here.

Everybody needs the cash flow but if everyone does it, the price crashes.

Setting up the re-use of one of the worst puns of all time, first seen here in a 2008 headline and intro:

"Don't panic - just a temporary crash floe problem." 

Overheard on the Titanic*.

I immediately disavowed any responsibility by laying it off on some cartoon, somewhere.
January's $34.44 down 0.51 after trading as low as $34.29.

From ZeroHedge:

WTI crude has collapsed to cycle lows after the US oil rig count surged by 17, the largest jump in 5 months. The total rig count was unchanged as the surge in oil rigs was perfectly countered by the collapse in natural gas rigs.

• *U.S. GAS RIG COUNT DOWN 17 TO 168 , BAKER HUGHES SAYS

• *U.S. OIL RIG COUNT UP 17 TO 541 , BAKER HUGHES SAYS

The oil rig count continues to track the lagged oil price...

And that has sent Jan WTI (expires Monday) to fresh cycle lows...

Charts: Bloomberg