National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $2.196; Month Ago: $2.071; Year Ago: $2.750. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $2.440; Month Ago: $2.418; Year Ago: $3.003.

Futures were little changed in New York after falling 0.6 percent on Wednesday. Prince Mohammed said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Riyadh that "of course" he wanted to extend OPEC’s production cuts in 2018, making it all but certain the group and its allies will roll over the curbs at a meeting next month. Oil is holding gains above $50 a barrel as speculation mounts that supply curbs by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia will be prolonged when they meet in Vienna on Nov. 30. In Iraq, the state oil company is working with a Kurdish firm to resume pumping at two disputed fields after government troops recaptured them from Kurdish forces. Click Read More below for additional information.

Trucking activity in the United States increased again in August, pushing the level up to the highest point since December 2023. Specifically, truck freight tonnage rose 0.9% after gaining 1.1% in July, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.  “The good news is that truck freight volumes had a nice end of the summer,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “However, while I’d like to predict a strong rebound in freight levels through the upcoming holidays, I can’t. I believe traditional seasonal patterns are off this year as shippers adjust to tariffs. Plus, housing remains soft, the slowing labor market is likely to show up in consumer spending at some point, and most manufacturing metrics are either decelerating or declining.” Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.7% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024.*  Motor carriers collected $906 billion, or 76.9% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.