Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 7/30/21

The market “looks a lot more bullish than it did three or four months ago,” said James Williams, president of London, Arkansas-based energy researcher WTRG Economics. The stockpile declines aren’t surprising since “refinery utilization is coming down this time of year because it’s turnaround season,” he said. Nonetheless, he predicted prices will rally again Wednesday if the government confirms the drops. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to extend supply cuts beyond their March expiration date, which has supported oil above the key $50-a-barrel psychological threshold. In addition, oil demand is proving more resilient than some expected, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih said in Riyadh. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for New York-traded futures contracts, probably declined by 500,000 barrels, according to a separate forecast compiled by Bloomberg. A Bloomberg survey estimated that U.S crude stockpiles slid by 3 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles probably rose by 1.7 million barrels. The API report also showed crude stockpiles rose by 519,000 barrels, while Cushing supplies fell by 55,000 barrels last week. A draw at Cushing would be the first since August if the Energy Information Administration confirms it in its data release on Wednesday. Click Read More below for additional information.

A group of transportation and trucking stakeholders is calling on Congress to repeal the Federal Excise Tax (FET) on heavy-duty commercial vehicles. This century-old tax is impeding the deployment of cleaner, more environmentally friendly trucks on our nation's roads, according to a letter from the American Trucking Associations, American Truck Dealers, and Zero Emission Transportation Association sent to Congressional leadership. The heavy-duty excise tax was established in 1917 to defray the costs of World War I and today adds 12% to the cost of a new truck, creating a major disincentive for trucking fleets small and large to modernize their equipment and replace older tractors with new, low-emission power units. The FET can add more than $50,000 to the price of the latest low- or zero-emission vehicle, making these investments cost-prohibitive for smaller fleets. Over 90% of U.S. motor carriers operate six or fewer trucks. “If Congress is serious about safety, the environment and jobs, then repealing the FET should be front-burner," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "It’s time to shelve this World War I era tax and starting putting the best equipment on our roads.”

Delta Airlines is using a wall in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn NY to depict the 133 airport codes that one can fly to from New York City on Delta. The illustrations by Celyn Brazier, who worked with ad agency Wieden + Kennedy in New York to show something special about the city or town they depict.