Surging Crack Spreads and Crude Costs Elevate Fuel Prices, EIA Reports
Tight global supplies and climbing crude oil costs continue to bolster refining profitability and lift prices at the pump.
Refining margins and crude oil prices are pushing motor fuel costs higher for consumers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, elevated crack spreads across key trading hubs have combined with higher crude input costs to drive up retail fuel prices.
Crack spreads function as an industry benchmark reflecting the overall profitability of refining crude oil into finished petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel. A common assessment method determines this margin by subtracting the spot market price of a gallon of crude oil from the corresponding wholesale price of a gallon of refined product.
Data from the New York Harbor pricing hub illustrates the scale of the recent shift. Since May, the gasoline crack spread in New York Harbor has averaged approximately $1 per gallon higher than levels seen in 2025, when the crack spread peaked at around 60 cents per gallon.
The EIA attributed the persistence of these elevated crack spreads primarily to tight gasoline supplies across global markets, which have kept wholesale product values well above crude input costs.
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