Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 8/16/24

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.750588; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.140293; American Dollar to Euro = 1.077903; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.007174; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.057534.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 4.5% in February after rising 1.8% in January. In February, the index equaled 110 (2015=100) compared with 115.2 in January. “February’s drop was exacerbated, perhaps completely caused, by the severe winter weather that impacted much of the country during the month,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Many other economic indicators were also soft in February due to the bad storms, but I continue to expect a nice climb up for the economy and truck freight as economic stimulus checks are spent and more people are vaccinated.” January’s gain was revised up slightly to 1.8% from our February 23 press release. Compared with February 2020, the SA index fell 5.9%, which was preceded by a 1.6% year-over-year decline in January. In 2020, the index was 4% below the 2019 average.

Futures added 0.7 percent in New York after advancing 3.3 percent the previous two sessions. The global economic recovery has gained traction and oil de-stocking gathered pace in recent months, Barkindo said Tuesday. Producers in the U.S. Gulf have cut output by a million barrels a day, or 59 percent, because of Tropical Storm Nate, the Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement said. Oil has inched higher in the past few days -- following the biggest weekly loss since May -- on signs of tighter supply. U.S. crude stockpiles probably fell by 2.4 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration report Thursday. Barkindo, speaking in New Delhi, said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries had boosted oil-demand estimates for this year and next. “OPEC is talking to a market which is currently prepared to listen, given the visible improvements seen during the past few months,” said Ole Sloth Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S. Click Read More below for more of the story.