3-2-1 crack spread ·EIA spot, as of September 9, 2026
A US refiner turning three barrels of WTI into two of gasoline and one of diesel clears $62.73 a barrel as of September 9, 2026, up $1.78 from September 2, 2026 and near the widest in the record since 1986.
3-2-1 crack spread
September 15, 2021 to September 9, 2026
Daily 3-2-1 crack spread in US dollars per barrel: two barrels of New York Harbor conventional gasoline plus one of New York Harbor ULSD (No. 2 heating oil before June 14, 2006), less three barrels of WTI at Cushing, divided by three. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices via FRED.
Gulf Coast 3-2-1 crack spread
September 15, 2021 to September 9, 2026
Daily Gulf Coast 3-2-1 crack spread in US dollars per barrel: two barrels of US Gulf Coast conventional gasoline plus one of US Gulf Coast ULSD, less three barrels of WTI at Cushing, divided by three; EIA publishes no Gulf Coast heating oil spot, so the series begins with ULSD on June 14, 2006. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices via FRED.
Refining margins by product: gasoline, diesel and jet against run rate and stocks
We watch US refining margins.
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About this series
What a US refiner clears turning three barrels of WTI crude into two barrels of gasoline and one of diesel, in dollars per barrel of crude. It is the most quoted measure of US refining margins. Computed here from the U.S. EIA's daily spot prices, ranked against every session since 1986.
On September 9, 2026: (2 × $3.289 × 42 + $4.850 × 42 − 3 × $97.26) / 3 = $62.73 per barrel of crude. Gasoline is New York Harbor conventional regular, the distillate leg is New York Harbor ULSD, and crude is WTI at Cushing, Oklahoma. 10,112 sessions since June 2, 1986.
Today's margin sits near the top of the EIA spot record going back to 1986. A margin this wide pays refineries to run flat out, and the refinery utilization page shows whether they are.
Daily 3-2-1 crack spread in US dollars per barrel: two barrels of New York Harbor conventional gasoline plus one of New York Harbor ULSD (No. 2 heating oil before June 14, 2006), less three barrels of WTI at Cushing, divided by three. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices via FRED. EIA publishes these daily prices on a weekly release, so the newest session can be up to a week old. EIA daily spot prices ↗
The 3-2-1 crack spread: common questions
- What is the crack spread?
- The crack spread is the gap between what a refinery pays for a barrel of crude oil and what it gets for the fuels it makes from that barrel, in dollars per barrel. Refining is called cracking because heat and catalysts break the long hydrocarbon chains in crude into shorter ones like gasoline and diesel. A wide crack spread means refining is lucrative and refineries run hard; a thin one means the fuels barely cover the crude and runs get cut.
- How is the 3-2-1 crack spread calculated?
- Take three barrels of WTI crude and turn them into two barrels of gasoline and one barrel of diesel. The 3-2-1 crack spread is two times the gasoline price plus one times the diesel price, less three times the crude price, divided by three, so the answer is a margin per barrel of crude. Gasoline and diesel are quoted per gallon, so each is multiplied by 42, the gallons in a barrel. This page uses EIA's daily spot prices: New York Harbor conventional regular gasoline, New York Harbor ultra-low-sulfur diesel (No. 2 heating oil before June 14, 2006, when EIA's ULSD series begins), and WTI at Cushing, Oklahoma.
More questions
- Why 3-2-1?
- Because a typical US refinery gets roughly two barrels of gasoline for every one barrel of distillate out of three barrels of crude. The ratio is a rule of thumb for the US product mix, not any single plant's yield, which is why traders also watch 2-1-1 and 5-3-2 versions. The 3-2-1 is the one most quoted for US refining margins.
- Why does this number trail the crack spread on a futures screen?
- Futures-based crack spreads update every trading day from RBOB gasoline, heating oil and WTI contracts. This page uses EIA's daily spot prices, which EIA publishes once a week, so the newest quote here can be up to a week old and a futures ticker will run ahead of it. The as-of date under the headline is the date of the quotes, not the day you are reading. FRED mirrors the EIA series the day EIA releases them.
- Why a New York Harbor and a Gulf Coast 3-2-1?
- EIA quotes product spot prices at two hubs. New York Harbor is the delivery point for the gasoline and heating oil futures and prices the fuel the East Coast burns; the Gulf Coast is where about half of US refining capacity sits and prices the fuel it makes. The headline 3-2-1 here is the New York Harbor version because it has the longest record, back to 1986, and is the one most quoted. The Gulf Coast 3-2-1 uses Gulf Coast gasoline and ULSD and begins in June 2006, when EIA's ULSD series starts, because there is no Gulf Coast heating oil spot to carry the earlier years. When the Gulf Coast margin runs wide of New York's, the coast that makes the fuel is being paid more than the coast that burns it.
- What does a high or low crack spread mean for gasoline and diesel prices?
- A wide crack spread means refineries earn more on each barrel they run, which pulls runs up and, in time, adds gasoline and diesel supply. A thin spread means the fuels are cheap relative to crude, so refineries have less reason to run and product stocks tend to draw. The refining margins page beside this one puts each product's crack next to the refinery run rate and that product's stocks.