AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 2/23/18

Oil started the week off with mixed readings after last week’s nearly 5% rise as investor sentiment in black gold continued to be buoyed by hopes of extension to the OPEC-led deal to curb production. U.S. crude showed cautious trade around the unchanged mark Monday with the benchmark unable to hold the $54 mark, though the London barrel managed to extend gains. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude December contract slipped 2 cents, or 0.04%, to $53.88 a barrel by 5:12AM ET (9:12GMT). Click Read More below for additional information.

When the price of diesel goes up, the cost of everything else follows. Peak travel season is upon us and gasoline prices continue to soar. Americans are rightfully concerned as the cost of filling up their tank keeps going up at the pump. And while most may not pay as much thought to the price of diesel, the reality is that number weighs even heavier on their pocketbooks. Virtually every good you can think of travels by truck before it’s in your reach. And today’s trucks, by and large, run on diesel. The price of diesel is baked into the price of everything else, gasoline included. Right now, motor carriers are getting slammed by nightmarish surges in the price of diesel. It’s especially hard on smaller fleets, which don’t operate at a scale to negotiate rates down or lock prices into a contract. These small businesses account for 97% of trucking companies in the U.S., running 20 trucks or fewer.

Weekly U.S. crude oil production hit the highest level on record last week, according to preliminary government data, in another sign of the resilience of American shale drillers. The United States produced 9.62 million barrels of oil a day in the week through Nov. 3, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday. That just slightly topped a record high struck in June 2015, just before the oil price crash sparked a more than one-year decline that sent U.S. output to about 8.4 million barrels a day. Click Read More below for additional information.