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Fuel refining margins hit record highs as supplies tighten
Diesel refining margins in Europe rose to a record high above $60 per barrel after Russia banned diesel exports, while the US NYMEX 3-2-1 crack spread hit $64.58 per barrel on July 8.
Refining margins for gasoline and diesel surged to record levels this week, reflecting tightening global fuel supply conditions, OilPrice reports, citing factors including a renewed escalation in the Middle East, Russia’s diesel export ban, and falling global fuel inventories.
In Europe, diesel refining margins climbed to a record high above $60 per barrel on Wednesday after Russia announced the export ban aimed at easing its domestic fuel crisis, which has been linked to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries.
European gasoline traded at a four-year high premium to crude of $41 per barrel, according to data compiled by Reuters, and the last time that premium matched those levels was in the summer of 2022, early in the Ukraine war.
In the United States, the prompt NYMEX 3-2-1 crack spread contract, a proxy for refinery profitability, reached a record high of $64.58 per barrel on July 8, Reuters data showed. OilPrice attributes the margin strength to tighter product availability, export restrictions, and refiners scrambling to process new Middle East crude flows.
Latest closeWTI crude $71.84 ▼2.3%|Gasoline (RBOB) $2.853 ▼8.1%