AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 03/23/18

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.790589; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.149829; American Dollar to Euro = 1.174149; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009169; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.055936.

“The U.S. oil rig count, a key indicator for trader sentiment, exhibited a rather large weekly decline,” said analysts at consultants JBC Energy GmbH in Vienna. “At least in the short term, this dynamic should help protect the downside to crude prices. The more pressing question may be how much higher prices can climb before the gravitational forces of global supply and demand can start to form an upper limit.” West Texas Intermediate for October delivery rose as much as 44 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $50.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded for $49.91 at 10:43 a.m. London time. On Sept. 14, it reached $50.50, the highest since May 25. Total volume traded was about 26 percent below the 100-day average. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Oil in New York climbed 12 percent last year as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies trimmed supply to reduce a global glut. U.S. crude output is also slipping from a record-high, with weekly production falling through Dec. 22 for the first time since mid-October. Any interruption to Iranian supply would be a significant shock to the market. “Geopolitical risks are clearly back on the crude oil agenda,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB AB in Oslo. “As of yet, there is no deep-seated concern for a disruption” in Iran, but if that were to happen “it would have a huge impact on global crude oil prices.” Click Read More below for additional information.