Diesel's street margin is $1.654, the widest it has been all month

The diesel retail-wholesale spread is $1.654 a gallon, and that is the widest it has been all month. That spread is the difference between what you pay at the rack and what you charge at the pump.

The 3:2:1 crack spread says the same thing from the refiner's side. It is 63.99 now, up 6.37 over the month, so the plants are earning more on every barrel they turn into gasoline and diesel. At the same time, refinery utilization is 92.5, down 5.6% over the past 30 days, and is at the 41 percent mark of its range. Runs are easing off while the margin on product climbs, which is the setup that keeps wholesale firm. Gasoline backs that up at 4.496, up 4.7% and near the top of its 30-day range at the 92 percent mark.

For a jobber or a hauler, the plain read is that your buy cost is high and your sell-side margin is wide at the same time. The wide spread is yours to keep only if street competition lets you hold the pump price while the rack moves under you, so watch your local pump posting against the rack each morning this week.

If utilization keeps sliding with gasoline already this high in its range, wholesale could stay firm into the next couple of weeks, which would protect the diesel spread but squeeze anyone who has to chase a price war at the pump.