Refiner margins widened while the street's diesel margin tightened 37.5 cents

The 3:2:1 crack spread is 54.48 today, up 8.94 over the past 30 days, so the refinery gate is capturing most of the crude selloff. WTI crude is at the very bottom of its 30-day range and down 28.4% for the month. When crude falls that hard and the crack widens at the same time, the value is landing at the refinery, not at the pump.

For the operator, the number that matters is the retail-wholesale diesel spread, and it went the other way. It is 1.336 now, down 0.375 over the past 30 days, so the street margin on diesel is thinner than a month ago. Wholesale product has dropped faster than retail could follow, and the jobber and retailer absorbed part of that. Gasoline shows the same split. RBOB is at the low end of its 30-day range and down 11.4%, while retail gasoline is still 3.964, at the 61% mark of its own range. The pump has a good bit of room left to come down.

Diesel retail is 4.668, at the 55% mark of its range and down 12.7%, so it too is lagging the wholesale drop. That lag squeezed the street spread. It also means the next move in retail is more likely down than up if wholesale stays where it is.

WTI and RBOB are both near their 30-day floors, so the wholesale side may be near a bottom. If crude holds here, retail could keep drifting lower over the next couple of weeks, which would let the street diesel margin loosen back up as the pump catches down to product.