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

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.724714; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.138063; American Dollar to Euro = 0.976118; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.006601; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.049899.

Oil prices steadied on Friday after almost a week of sharp rises as Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms in a century, drove towards Florida after tearing through the Caribbean. Irma is the second major hurricane to approach the United States in two weeks and has already killed 14, flattening whole islands. Its predecessor, Harvey, shut a quarter of U.S. refineries and 8 percent of U.S. oil production. “Hurricanes can have a lasting effect on refinery and industry demand,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “The impact of the forces of nature on U.S. oil production should not be overestimated – nor should their impact on demand be underestimated.”

Futures climbed as much as 1.7 percent in New York, paring Wednesday’s 4.1 percent loss. Crude and gasoline inventories both dropped by more than by 5.5 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. Government data Thursday is also forecast to show supplies fell. Oil remains in a bear market amid concerns that rising supply from Libya to the U.S. will counter production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners including Russia. American crude stockpiles are more than 100 million barrels above the five-year average. Click Read More below for additional detail.