National Average Price for Regular – Current: $2.697; Month Ago: $2.523; Year Ago: $2.405. National Average Price for Diesel – Current: $2.991; Month Ago: $2.934; Year Ago: $2.530.

Futures in New York are up 3.7 percent this month, even after a 1 percent drop on Monday, following data that showed an increase in U.S. drilling activity. A potential withdrawal in May by U.S. President Donald Trump from a 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran would reimpose sanctions on the Middle Eastern producer and curb its exports. Meanwhile, OPEC is trimming output even after concluding it has cleared 97 percent of the surplus that has weighed on prices. “Obviously the rig count that came on Friday was quite bearish,” says Torbjorn Kjus, chief oil analyst at DNB Bank ASA. “There’s a lot of profit in the books here for the non-commercials. You shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a $5 flush out and some profit taking.” In the U.S., working oil rigs rose by five last week to 825, the highest level since March 2015, according to data from Baker Hughes. Click Read More below for additional information.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has expressed support for the U.S. administration's recent efforts to address trade challenges with the European Union, particularly regarding non-tariff barriers affecting the paper and forest products industry. In a statement released following U.S.-EU trade negotiations, AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock welcomed the administration’s commitment to fostering fair and reciprocal trade. She emphasized the importance of tackling both tariff and non-tariff obstacles to safeguard U.S. exports. One of the AF&PA’s key concerns is the European Union’s Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), which the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has classified as a non-tariff trade barrier. According to the association, the regulation could put at risk more than $3.5 billion in annual exports of U.S. forest products to the EU.