Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 8/18/23

Oil remains in a bear market on concern rising global supply will offset curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners including Russia. OPEC’s first assessment of world markets in 2018 suggested that its current output of 32.6 million barrels a day -- swollen by a recovery in Libya and Nigeria that are exempt from the cuts -- will be too high. “Given how the rebalancing process appears to be taking its time, it will be difficult to avoid having the discussion with Libya and Nigeria of eventually capping their output, provided of course the gains in the two countries are sustained,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Delta Airlines is using a wall in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn NY to depict the 133 airport codes that one can fly to from New York City on Delta. The illustrations by Celyn Brazier, who worked with ad agency Wieden + Kennedy in New York to show something special about the city or town they depict.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 0.6% in January after increasing 0.9% in December. In January, the index equaled 115.5 (2015=100) compared with 114.9 in December. ATA recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision. “January’s gain was the sixth straight totaling 4.4%,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The index, which is dominated by contract freight with only small amounts of spot market truck freight, is off 3.9% from the all-time high in August 2019 and only 1.5% below March 2020 when the pandemic hit. In January, truck tonnage was helped by rising retail sales and factory output. While housing starts fell last month, which is another important driver of truck tonnage, it remained at high levels.”