Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 1/20/23

Futures added 0.4 percent after settling at a two-week low on Wednesday. Overseas shipments from the U.S. jumped to a record last week as production rose, government data showed. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin said he’s open to prolonging a deal with OPEC to curb supplies, though a decision won’t be made until the current agreement nears expiry in March. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz began a four-day visit to the nation on Wednesday. “U.S. production is almost at a record-high level, and exports are record-high,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. “As this U.S. production is a fundamental part of the oil market, such news weighs heavily.” Lower demand from U.S. Gulf Coast refiners that are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey in August has caused crude sellers to seek markets abroad, triggering shipments of 1.98 million barrels a day, the highest level in weekly government data compiled since 1993. The figure was about a third higher than the previous record, set the prior week. Click Read More below for additional detail.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.748519; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.138257; American Dollar to Euro = 1.089425; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.006980; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.057970.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.5% in August after falling 1.1% in July. In August, the index equaled 110.3 (2015=100) compared with 109.8 in July. “August’s monthly gain, while small, was the first since March,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It is important to remember that ATA’s tonnage data is dominated by for-hire contract freight, with a very limited amount of spot market freight. I continue to believe that tonnage has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels for two main reasons - broader supply chain issues, like semiconductor shortages, as well as industry specific difficulties, including the driver shortage and lack of equipment. “Despite some supply chain issues, demand remains strong for trucking services generally. Truckload carriers are operating fewer trucks than a year earlier, which makes it difficult to increase freight volumes significantly,” he said.