US refining margins by product ·EIA spot, as of September 9, 2026
NY Harbor diesel is paying US refiners the most: $106.44 a barrel over WTI as of September 9, 2026, with the other 4 cracks between $40.88 and $105.68, and refineries are running at 97.8% of capacity.
Margins × run rate × stocks
At or near a record: Gasoline (NY Harbor), near the record high, Diesel (NY Harbor), near the record high, Jet fuel (Gulf Coast), near the record high, Gasoline (Gulf Coast), near the record high, Diesel (Gulf Coast), near the record high. Refineries are running at 97.8% of capacity, in the top tenth of readings since 2015.
98th percentile of the 40-year record.
Record high $70.41/bbl (June 2022)
5% below its five-year norm for this week
99th percentile of the 20-year record.
Record high $118.74/bbl (May 2022)
14% below its five-year norm for this week
99th percentile of the 36-year record.
Record high $107.30/bbl (April 2022)
8% above its five-year norm for this week
99th percentile of the 40-year record.
Record high $103.48/bbl (September 2008)
5% below its five-year norm for this week
99th percentile of the 20-year record.
Record high $116.96/bbl (April 2022)
1% below its five-year norm for this week
Gasoline crack spread, New York Harbor
September 15, 2021 to September 9, 2026
Daily New York Harbor conventional regular gasoline spot price × 42, less WTI at Cushing, in US dollars per barrel. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices via FRED.
Diesel crack spread, New York Harbor
September 15, 2021 to September 9, 2026
Daily New York Harbor ultra-low-sulfur diesel spot price × 42, less WTI at Cushing, in US dollars per barrel; EIA's ULSD series begins June 14, 2006. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices via FRED.
Jet fuel crack spread, Gulf Coast
September 15, 2021 to September 9, 2026
Daily US Gulf Coast kerosene-type jet fuel spot price × 42, less WTI at Cushing, in US dollars per barrel. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices via FRED.
Gasoline crack spread, Gulf Coast
September 15, 2021 to September 9, 2026
Daily US Gulf Coast conventional regular gasoline spot price × 42, less WTI at Cushing, in US dollars per barrel. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices via FRED.
Diesel crack spread, Gulf Coast
September 15, 2021 to September 9, 2026
Daily US Gulf Coast ultra-low-sulfur diesel spot price × 42, less WTI at Cushing, in US dollars per barrel; EIA's ULSD series begins June 14, 2006. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration spot prices via FRED.
The 3-2-1 crack spread: the one-number US refining margin, with its formula and full history
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About this series
What US refineries earn on gasoline, diesel and jet fuel over the WTI crude they start with, at both hubs EIA quotes (New York Harbor and the Gulf Coast), each crack ranked against its own record, read beside the share of refining capacity running and the stock of that product. Margins, run rate and stocks on one page, because a margin only matters through what refineries do with it.
Daily product spot prices × 42 less WTI at Cushing, in US dollars per barrel, from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's spot price series via FRED; EIA publishes these daily prices on a weekly release. Refinery utilization and product stocks are from the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report. EIA daily spot prices ↗
US refining margins: common questions
- What is a per-product crack spread?
- It is one fuel's spot price, converted from dollars per gallon to dollars per barrel by multiplying by 42, less the price of a barrel of WTI crude. The gasoline and diesel cracks are shown at both hubs EIA quotes, New York Harbor (conventional regular gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel) and the US Gulf Coast, and the jet crack uses US Gulf Coast kerosene-type jet fuel, the only jet spot EIA publishes. Each says what a refinery earns on that product over the crude it started with.
- Why show refining margins beside refinery utilization and product stocks?
- Because a margin only matters through what refineries do with it. A wide diesel crack with refineries already near capacity cannot pull much more diesel out of the system, and a wide crack beside a tight diesel stock says the market is paying for barrels that are not there. Reading the three together, margin, run rate and stocks, is how a refiner or a fuel buyer reads the week, and it is the read no single number gives.
More questions
- Which crack spread matters most?
- It depends on the season and the product mix. Gasoline usually leads into the summer driving season and diesel into the winter heating season and harvest. Jet fuel moves slowly because airlines buy on contract, so its crack says more about long-run refinery yield choices than about the week. The 3-2-1 crack spread combines gasoline and diesel into one number for the typical US barrel.
- How current are these margins?
- The cracks use EIA's daily spot prices, which EIA publishes once a week, so the newest session can be up to a week old and a futures-based ticker will run ahead. The refinery utilization and product stock figures are from the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week shown. Each figure carries its own as-of date.