AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 12/22/2017

Futures advanced 0.3 percent after climbing 0.8 percent Wednesday. Output slid for the second time in three weeks, according to Energy Information Administration data, while stockpiles dropped by 6.45 million barrels, almost triple the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Gasoline inventories unexpectedly rose for the first time since early June. Oil has fluctuated below $50 a barrel for more than a week as investors weigh rising global supply against output cuts by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia. While U.S. crude stockpiles have declined during a period of strong seasonal demand, they remain almost 90 million barrels above the five-year average. Click Read More below for additional detail.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.743551; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.139068; American Dollar to Euro = 1.093515; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.006792; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.059317.

December futures were little-changed in New York. OPEC and its partners including Russia achieved a record-high level of compliance to output cuts during September, according to a statement on Saturday. In the U.S., drillers reduced the rig count for a third week to the lowest since June, according to Baker Hughes. “The lower U.S. rig count number, the OPEC compliance number and the geopolitical headlines from northern Iraq and Iran on sanctions have helped futures higher,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S said. “But there are signs the market could be weakening with the seasonal refinery demand slowdown.” One sign that demand could be weakening is the Brent market structure known as backwardation -- when prompt prices are more expensive than later-dated futures -- which isn’t as strong as a month ago, said Hansen. Click Read More below for additional information.