Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 8/19/22

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.518; Month Ago: $3.832; Year Ago: $3.760. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $4.497; Month Ago: $4.569; Year Ago: $5.309.

Canadian Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has rejected a request by Canadian National Railway to initiate binding arbitration in a labor dispute with the Teamsters union, a spokesman for the minister said on Thursday. In a letter to CN Rail's lawyers, MacKinnon said it was the shared responsibility of the company and the union to negotiate in good faith. The letter, sent on Wednesday, was released by the Teamsters. Talks between CN Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City - the country's two largest rail companies - and the Teamsters are deadlocked, with each side blaming the other. CN Rail said it was disappointed by MacKinnon's decision, saying he would have to reconsider if the union did not "get serious and engage meaningfully at the negotiating table".

OPEC's oil production rose again in June, driven by increases in Libya and Nigeria and as top exporter Saudi Arabia reported it pumped more than it agreed to last year. The producer group's total output jumped by about 393,500 barrels a day to a total of 32.6 million barrels a day last month, according to independent assessments cited by OPEC in a monthly report. The increases came despite the producer group extending a deal to limit production in May. Click Read More below for additional detail.