Lates News

Driven by a global fuel-buying frenzy triggered by the Middle East conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war, the third-quarter earnings of several of the largest US refiners are expected to soar. Wall Street analysts expect independent US fuel producers such as Valero Energy, Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66 to post results that could far exceed the near-record levels they achieved in the second quarter ended June. With global supply shrinking and prices soaring, refiners are reaping record-high profit margins from diesel and other fuels. The industry calls this the "crack spread": although oil prices have risen, they have risen less than refined products such as diesel. The wider the spread between crude oil and fuels, the more refiners earn on every gallon of fuel they produce. John Auers, a refined products analyst at Novi Labs, noted that this earnings surge means a reversal in the industry's fortunes. Shares in these companies have already climbed sharply to new highs.