AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 10/27/23

Futures rose as much as 1.2 percent to a six-week high, after advancing 2.1 percent on Tuesday. Donald Trump hinted at withdrawal from a deal curbing Iran’s nuclear program as Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Salman began a U.S. visit. Such a decision would raise the risk of the OPEC member’s oil exports being curtailed by sanctions. The specter of conflict involving giant producers is jolting prices, which have traded in a tight range since February. With the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies concluding that the market will rebalance by the end of September, Citigroup Inc. predicts oil’s recent “sideways” move is unlikely to last. Still, investors will be wary of growth in U.S. supply, which has threatened to undermine OPEC’s efforts to eliminate a global glut. Click Read More below for additional information.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.777646; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.153083; American Dollar to Euro = 1.215643; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009617; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.050393.

The major freight railroads appear unwilling to give track maintenance workers much more than they received in the initial contract they rejected last week, increasing the chances of a strike. The railroads took the unusual step of issuing a statement late Wednesday rejecting the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division union’s latest request to add paid sick time on top of the 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses they received in the first five-year deal. Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz said Thursday that he thinks the main reason the BMWED rejected its initial contract last week was that the details of improved expense reimbursement in the deal were still being negotiated at Union Pacific while workers were voting. So it wasn’t clear exactly what those workers would receive for their travel expenses when they go on the road to repair tracks. Six of the 12 railroad unions that represent 115,000 workers nationwide have approved their tentative agreements with the railroads so far, but all of them have to ratify their contracts to avoid a strike.