AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 10/01/21

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.730693; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.136697; American Dollar to Euro = 1.058834; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.006669; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.054446.

“After declines in November and December totaling 1.7%, tonnage was unchanged in January” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “This outcome is impressive considering the massive winter storm that brought cold temperatures and significant snowfalls to large parts of the country, including those that rarely see such storms. Furthermore, the terrible wildfires in California likely also caused freight disruptions. Softness in manufacturing and retail sales continue to be a drag on truck freight volumes as well, so the fact tonnage was flat is a positive sign.” In January, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 111.9 the same as December. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, was up 0.3% from the same month last year, the first year-over-year increase since August. The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 110 in January, 1.1% above December’s reading of 108.9.

Futures in New York slid 0.3 percent after closing at the highest since Feb. 5 on Monday as crude exports from a key Libyan terminal were disrupted. The focus now shifts to U.S. stockpiles, which are forecast to have risen last week. While they increased in three of the past four weeks, the pace of gains slowed, allaying fears that American supply will undermine OPEC’s output curbs. U.S. inventories probably rose by 2 million barrels last week, following a surprise drop in the previous week, according to a Bloomberg survey before Energy Information Administration data due Wednesday. The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. has risen for five consecutive weeks to the highest in almost three years, Baker Hughes data show. Click Read More below for additional information.