Money Is There When U.S. Oil Refiners Are Ready to Make It Again

  • Nymex margins on turning crude oil into fuel surpass $20
  • Gasoline stockpiles fall by record amount in two weeks: EIA
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After months of being battered by a demand-killing pandemic and then a rare Gulf Coast freeze, U.S. refiners are being greeted with the best margins on turning crude oil into gasoline and diesel since the summer of 2019.

The last two weeks saw a record-setting draw in U.S. gasoline stockpiles and the addition of nearly 25 million barrels of crude oil, government data show. The result is an opportunity for refiners to capitalize on the best margins since August 2019, excluding the April 2020 anomaly when crude futures fell below zero. The value of gasoline, diesel and other refined products relative to crude oil, known as the 3-2-1 crack, surged above $20 a barrel this week.