Investors have pulled billions from US stock funds for the third straight week amid sharp market gyrations, which have frayed investor nerves as global equity bourses slid deeper into correction territory.

U.S. Rig Count is down 14 rigs from last week to 650, with oil rigs down 1 to 515, and gas rigs down 13 to 135.

The slowdown has been rapid. As recently as a year ago, US manufacturing production was growing at an annual rate of 4.5 per cent, says Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers. By November that had slowed to 0.9 per cent and this year Mr Moutray expects production to grow just 1.4 per cent.

Crude oil production in February from seven major US shale plays is expected to fall 116,000 b/d to 4.83 million b/d. Production from the Eagle Ford is seen dropping 72,000 b/d during the month to 1.15 million b/d, followed by a 24,000-b/d loss in the Bakken to 1.1 million b/d and 23,000-b/d loss in the Niobrara to 371,000 b/d.

Global LNG output is expected to rise by a third to about 330 million metric tons annually by 2018, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Most of the new fuel will come from the U.S. and Australia, which is poised to topple Qatar as the biggest supplier. Unlike Saudi Arabia, the largest oil shipper, Qatar won’t be fighting for market share at the expense of earnings.

U.S. Rig Count is down 34 rigs from last week to 664, with oil rigs down 20 to 516, and gas rigs down 14 to 148.

Dow e-minis were down 380 points, or 2.26 percent, with 99,258 contracts changing hands at 8:13 a.m. ET (1313 GMT). S&P 500 e-minis were down 45 points, or 2.27 percent, with 578,860 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 130.25 points, or 2.93 percent, on volume of 108,831 contracts.

U.S. Rig Count is down 2 rigs from last week to 698, with oil rigs down 2 to 536, and gas rigs are unchanged from last week, at 162.

With no growth and no profits, the US exploration and production industry is facing a gruelling year. The gap between strong and weak companies is likely to widen. Those that have lower-cost production and healthier balance sheets should be able to stay in business. Those that have good assets but big debts may have to sell their most valuable properties. Those that have neither attractive assets nor strong finances will be heading for bankruptcy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 117.11 points, or 0.7%, to 17603.87. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%.