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Crack spread widens, pushing gasoline prices higher than oil

The gasoline-crude gap, known as the crack spread, has widened sharply, helping explain why pump prices are rising faster than crude.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

MarketWatch reports that gasoline prices have been climbing faster than oil prices as the crack spread has widened sharply. The crack spread measures the price difference between gasoline and crude oil, on a per-barrel basis.

When that spread increases, it typically signals higher refining margins and stronger pricing for gasoline relative to crude, which can drive gasoline higher even if oil prices do not rise as quickly. MarketWatch points to this widening gap as the key driver behind the recent divergence.

Latest closeWTI crude $79.00 ▼0.8%|Gasoline (RBOB) $3.114 ▼5.7%

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