AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 3/9/18

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.784713; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.149249; American Dollar to Euro = 1.072026; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.007881; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.050746.

Futures in New York tumbled 1.7 percent Thursday. While Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecasted strong global consumption growth, crude production and stockpiles in the U.S. climbed higher in the latest inventory report. A strengthening dollar also pushed crude lower. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners including Russia continue to trim output as promised. OPEC shipments will fall by 230,000 barrels a day in the four weeks to March 24, according to tanker-tracker Oil Movements. Saudi Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih said in a Bloomberg Television interview that the deal will evolve in 2019 and the group will do what it needs to in order to preserve oil market stability. Click Read More below for additional information.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 2.4% in May after decreasing 1.7% in April. In May, the index equaled 115.4 (2015=100) compared with 112.7 in April. “Tonnage had a nice gain in May, but remains in recession territory,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The 2.4 percent gain didn’t erase the 4.5 percent total drop the previous two months. Additionally, tonnage continues to contract from year earlier levels as retail sales remain soft, manufacturing production continues to fall from a year ago, and housing starts contract from 2022 levels.” Compared with May 2022, the SA index decreased 1.3%, which was the third straight year-over-year decrease. In April, the index was down 3.4% from a year earlier.