Those hoping to find the bottom of the August Bear plunge were greatly disappointed in the Fuel Markets on Thursday. The Bears took it to the Bulls for the sixth consecutive day. First, Covid continues to march feverishly in the US. Second, the dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve announced they would slow their pace of bond buy-backs, and the US weekly initial unemployment claims was smaller than expected. On the travel front, Wednesday’s Traveler Throughput was down 4.7% over the prior Wednesday and dropped another .10% in the 7-day average versus 2019 according to TSA data. The daily travel declines provide ongoing evidence of softening demand. Friday is a slow scheduled economic news day. The best hope for the Bulls continues to be bargain hunters and chartists believing their models found the bottom at long last.