AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 3/29/24

Futures climbed as much as 1.3 percent in New York after declining 0.9 percent Tuesday. Inventories expanded by 1.44 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. That’s less than half the projected 3.9 million-barrel increase the government is forecast to report Wednesday. Some U.S. refiners are delaying maintenance to take advantage of strong margins. While oil has rebounded the past two weeks, crude in the U.S. has struggled to hold above $50 a barrel as prices beyond that level make some shale profitable and boost supply. At the same time, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are said to be discussing extending by more than three months the output cuts that expire in March. Iraq, the group’s second-biggest producer, has said production should be reduced by an additional 1 percent to help rebalance the market. Click Read More below for additional detail.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.794987; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.150086; American Dollar to Euro = 1.0708866; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.007658; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.051105.

“Prices are being driven up by tight supply due to high production outages in Venezuela plus the cuts implemented by OPEC and Russia,” said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank. “What is more, demand appears robust.” The United States has until May 12 to decide whether to quit a nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions against the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, tightening global supplies. OPEC’s supply curtailments and the threat of new sanctions are occurring as demand in Asia, the biggest oil-consuming region, has risen to a record. Click Read More below for additional information.