daily · energy-costs

Elevated crack spreads and crude oil prices contribute to higher prices at the pump

What are crack spreads and why are they elevated? Crack spreads are indicators of the profitability of refining crude oil into petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel. One common crack spread is calculated by subtracting the spot market price of a gallon of crude oil from the wholesale price of a gallon of refined product. Since May, the gasoline crack spread in New York Harbor has averaged about $1 per gallon (gal) higher than in 2025, when the crack spread peaked around 60 cents/gal. Gasoline crack spreads are elevated primarily because of tight gasoline supplies globally.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published September 7, 2026 · Updated 9/7/2026

Elevated crack spreads and crude oil prices contribute to higher prices at the pump

What happened

What are crack spreads and why are they elevated? Crack spreads are indicators of the profitability of refining crude oil into petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel. One common crack spread is calculated by subtracting the spot market price of a gallon of crude oil from the wholesale price of a gallon of refined product. Since May, the gasoline crack spread in New York Harbor has averaged about $1 per gallon (gal) higher than in 2025, when the crack spread peaked around 60 cents/gal. Gasoline crack spreads are elevated primarily because of tight gasoline supplies globally.

Why it matters for household costs

This update is relevant to energy costs because household decisions about energy, transportation, and home equipment depend on current, source-backed information. The release itself is the factual basis for this article; Greener Numbers does not treat it as a prediction of an individual bill, rebate, or tax outcome.

What the source establishes

U.S. Energy Information Administration published the underlying release at https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=68104. Readers should use the release for definitions, reporting period, geography, and any limitations that apply to the dataset or announcement. A national average, program announcement, or infrastructure measure is not automatically a local utility tariff, an available incentive, or a guaranteed savings result.

Practical household takeaway

Use this item as a prompt to check the inputs that actually affect your decision: your utility bill and rate plan, driving or home-energy use, equipment quote, location, and the official program terms. For EV questions, compare charging cost and gasoline cost with editable assumptions. For home upgrades, keep estimates separate from eligibility and contractor pricing.

Method and limits

This is a source-grounded daily update generated from an official release. It does not add unverified dollar amounts, eligibility rules, quotes, dates, or forecasts. Any calculation should show its formula, units, period, geography, and source inputs. If the official source is later corrected or materially updated, this article should be updated rather than duplicated.

Source

Primary source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=68104. Accessed 2026-09-07.

Related tools

Explore the EV Charging Cost Calculator, EV vs. Gas Calculator, Electricity Bill Calculator, and incentives directory on GreenerNumbers.com. Inputs in calculators remain user-editable and source values, when shown, are defaults rather than personal tariffs.

Official source: U.S. Energy Information Administration ↗