Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 4/16/21

National Average Price for Regular – Current: $2.914; Month Ago: $2.731; Year Ago: $2.338. National Average Price for Diesel – Current: $3.167; Month Ago: $3.017; Year Ago: $2.499.

For a generation, the huge, whitewashed storage tanks at America’s largest oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, have stored almost nothing but Saudi crude. The plant is owned by Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company, Aramco, and since it first bought a stake in 1988, the Motiva refinery guaranteed the kingdom a strategic foothold in the world’s largest energy market. The tankers carrying millions of barrels a month of Arab Light crude from Saudi export terminals to Port Arthur were testament to the strength of the energy and political ties binding Riyadh and Washington. All of a sudden, there are very few Saudi ships arriving in Texas. Since July, Aramco has constricted supply, attempting to drain the crude storage tanks at Motiva -- and many others across America -- part of a plan to lift oil prices, even at the cost of sacrificing its once prized U.S. market. Click Read More below for additional information.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $4.243; Month Ago: $3.572; Year Ago: $2.870. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $5.079; Month Ago: $3.979; Year Ago: $3.103.