Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 9/13/24

Oil fell, compounding a monthly decline, after U.S. crude inventories were said to rise by more than expected. Futures in New York fell 0.6 percent, set for the first monthly drop since February. On Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report a 1 million barrel increase in crude stockpiles, double the gain forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Prices have declined about 4 percent since Saudi Arabia and Russia last week proposed to phase out supply curbs by OPEC and its allies. Click Read More below for additional information.

Oil prices edged lower Friday, giving up some of the ground made in a recent rally spurred by supply concerns in Venezuela and Iran. The economic crisis in Venezuela is curtailing the country’s oil production, while the planned reinstatement of U.S. sanctions against Iran is expected to hit production from the third-largest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Click Read More below for additional information.

As contract talks drag on, tensions are rising at West Coast ports. Following a shutdown at the Ports of Oakland and Long Beach, which combine to form the country’s largest cargo complex, over the weekend, the National Retail Federation called on the Biden Administration to intervene. (At least one terminal at the Port of Long Beach shut Monday, according to reports.) The new disruptions come as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association have failed to reach and ratify a new labor agreement following more than a year of negotiations.