AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 10/4/24

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $4.599; Month Ago: $4.134; Year Ago: $3.041. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $5.530; Month Ago: $5.093; Year Ago: $3.179.

Crude rebounded over 5 percent last month, recouping February’s losses, after U.S. President Donald Trump named hawkish officials to his government, signaling the nation may pursue a more hard-line stance toward Iran. Even so, concerns persist that a rapid increase in American production, which has topped 10 million barrels a day each week since early February, could undermine efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, which are trying to balance the market by cutting output. U.S. explorers cut the number of rigs by the most since November 2017 last week, bringing the total to 797, Baker Hughes data showed. Still, the count remains near the highest in three years, and with separate data showing nationwide crude inventories climbed 1.64 million barrels in the week ended March 23, jitters over increasing U.S. supplies remain. Click Read More below for additional information.

Futures rose 0.2 percent, leaving prices in London little changed on the week. They jumped above $65 for the first time since 2015 earlier on Tuesday after the Forties pipeline in the U.K. shut down because of a crack. Those gains were eroded as the International Energy Agency’s voiced doubts the market would fully rebalance in 2018, diverging from the view of OPEC. “It’s been volatile,” Torbjorn Kjus, analyst at DNB Bank ASA, said by phone. If the Forties pipeline is “out for a month, it should have a positive effect” on prices as 10 million barrels of oil supply could easily be lost to the market. Click Read More below for additional information.