Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 2/12/21

Oil last week rose to levels last seen in 2014 amid growing geopolitical risks, with investors anticipating that retaliation against Assad would threaten production in the region, while tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed rebels in Yemen also added to concerns. Still, surging U.S. output continues to weigh on investor sentiment even as the International Energy Agency says the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is close to reaching its target of eliminating a global crude glut. Meanwhile, in the U.S., working oil rigs rose by seven last week to 815, the highest since March 2015, according to data from Baker Hughes. The rig fleet has expanded in 10 of the past 12 weeks. The expansion came after the Energy Information Administration data showed that American oil production rose to a fresh record of 10.5 million barrels a day. Click Read More below for additional information.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.781652; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.149790; American Dollar to Euro = 1.056755; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.007809; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.050246.

“The API numbers did surprise, and I would be even more surprised to see them being repeated,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S. “We have reached a price level with which even OPEC is likely to be satisfied. I’m not sure whether Russia would like to play ball for such an extended period especially into the peak demand season.” Gasoline stocks rose by 1.47 million barrels and distillates fell by 4.53 million barrels last week, the API reported Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the data. U.S. crude inventories probably rose by 3.1 million barrels, according to the Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration report. Click Read More below for more of the story.