USGC refining margins turned down the volume in early October after September’s rally, but the 3-2-1 crack spread remains more than two-and-a-half times its October 2025 average.
Gasoline inventories are running unusually lean heading into fall. According to the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) for the week ended September 25, U.S. motor gasoline (mogas) stocks fell 1.7 MMbbl to just above 204 MMbbl, their lowest level since November 2014.
Diesel cracks shifted into overdrive the last two weeks, leaving double-digit territory in the rearview mirror. As we discussed in our Crude Billboard for the week ended September 18, the diesel crack skyrocketed to a record high of $113.48/bbl on Wednesday, September 16.
It’s no secret that rising prices for refined products have drawn scorn from consumers, businesses and politicians alike, but the market isn’t stuck indefinitely. Today, we look at how China could play a major role in stabilizing the global refined products market and help bring down prices.
At the opening day of RBN and Novi's School of Energy in Houston, Robert Auers covered the Refined Products markets: what’s driving supply and demand, what’s impacting the prices, and what can we expect for the future.
Diesel is taking the wheel of the refining barrel. As discussed in today’s Tradeview Report, the benchmark 3-2-1 crack edged just $0.52/bbl higher last week to $66.36/bbl, but that modest headline move masks a much more dramatic shift underneath.
USGC refining margins strengthened again in August as surging diesel cracks pushed the 3-2-1 crack spread to an average of $65/bbl, more than two-and-a-half times its year-ago level.
Woodside Energy has placed its Beaumont New Ammonia facility under strategic review and is evaluating its options for the site, the company said during its H1 2026 earnings presentation on August 25. CEO Liz Westcott said the company’s assets “must all compete for capital equally,” and that new energy opportunities must be supported by clear customer demands and commercial markets and compete for capital with other investment opportunities.
For many, 2026 will be remembered as the year that diesel cracks topped the century mark ($100/bbl) for the first time, surpassing even the post-COVID boom year of 2022. Today, we examine the various factors driving this run-up and what they reveal about the broader physical refined products market.
According to the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) released this morning, distillate stocks are on track for their lowest end-of-month level since April 2005; and this week marks the lowest inventories have been in the month of August since 1951.
