November futures dropped 0.5 percent in New York after climbing 1.6 percent Wednesday. Gasoline supplies dropped a third week to the lowest level since November 2015, while distillate stockpiles fell by the biggest amount since 2011, according to government data. Crude inventories expanded by 4.59 million barrels last week, more than the 3.9 million-barrel gain projected in a Bloomberg survey. U.S. oil production also rose a second week. “The market focused on the sharp recovery in crude demand implied” by the decline in fuel inventories on Wednesday, said Jens Naervig Pedersen, a senior analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “It adds to the bullish sentiment buoyed by concerns about the Iran nuclear deal and headlines about OPEC looking at a possible extension of output cuts.” U.S. gasoline stockpiles fell by 2.13 million barrels last week to 216.2 million, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday. Distillate inventories, a category that includes diesel, dropped by 5.69 million barrels. Crude output expanded by 157,000 barrels a day to 9.51 million a day. Click Read More below for more of the story.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.4% in October after rising 2.2% in September. In October, the index equaled 113 (2015=100) compared with 112.6 in September. “October’s gain was the third straight totaling 2.9%,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The combination of solid retail sales, inventory rebuilding, and generally higher factory output offset some areas of softer freight growth, like home construction, in October. “Economic growth remains on solid footing, which is good for truck freight volumes going forward. The largest problem for the industry isn’t the amount of demand, but making sure we have adequate supply. It is good to see that fleets were able to haul more tonnage in recent months in the face of constrained supply,” he said. September’s reading was revised down slightly to 2.2% from our October 19 press release.

Oil prices plunged on Friday as reports said OPEC and Russia are considering lifting production by as much as 1 million barrels a day to meet the shortfall in supply from Iran and Venezuela. The losses came after media reports hit saying the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia are discussing plans to lift their production for the first time since 2016. Bloomberg said the major producers are considering pumping between 300,000 and 800,000 more barrels of oil a day, while Reuters said the number could be as high as 1 million barrels. Click Read More below for additional information.