AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 3/19/21

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.423; Month Ago: $3.288; Year Ago: $2.443. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.771; Month Ago: $3.574; Year Ago: $2.667.

“There’s been some constructive developments coming out of OPEC,” Tamar Essner, an energy analyst at Nasdaq Inc. in New York, said by telephone. “The data out of OPEC has been bearish.” Oil has rebounded on growing signs that the market is coming back into balance, with futures climbing above the 200-day moving average last week for the first time since May. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait promised to reduce crude exports. U.S. crude stockpiles have been on a steady decline and are estimated to have dropped further last week. Click Read More below for more of the story.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 4.3% in February after decreasing 3.2% in January. In February, the index equaled 116.0 (2015=100) compared with 111.3 in January. “After a very soft January, due in part to winter storms, truck tonnage snapped back in February,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “February’s level was the highest in a year, yet the index still contracted from a year earlier, suggesting truck freight remains in a recession.” January’s decrease was revised up from our February 20 press release. Compared with February 2023, the index fell 1.4%, which was the twelfth straight year-over-year decline. In January, the index was down 4.5% from a year earlier.