AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 5/18/18

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.812743; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.154896; American Dollar to Euro = 1.194699; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009034; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.050472.

Futures added 0.4 percent after settling at a two-week low on Wednesday. Overseas shipments from the U.S. jumped to a record last week as production rose, government data showed. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin said he’s open to prolonging a deal with OPEC to curb supplies, though a decision won’t be made until the current agreement nears expiry in March. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz began a four-day visit to the nation on Wednesday. “U.S. production is almost at a record-high level, and exports are record-high,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. “As this U.S. production is a fundamental part of the oil market, such news weighs heavily.” Lower demand from U.S. Gulf Coast refiners that are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey in August has caused crude sellers to seek markets abroad, triggering shipments of 1.98 million barrels a day, the highest level in weekly government data compiled since 1993. The figure was about a third higher than the previous record, set the prior week. Click Read More below for additional detail.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1.3% in November after rising 0.4% in October. In November, the index equaled 114.5 (2015=100) compared with 113 in October. “November’s gain was the fourth straight, totaling 4.3%, and the tonnage level was the highest since April,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The recent streak is very good, but it should be noted that from April through July the index fell a total of 4.6%, so we are not quite back to where we were last spring. "With that said, the index saw the largest gain from a year earlier since May. In November, strong factory output and housing starts helped push the index higher," he said.