Diesel's street margin is 0.133 wider than a month ago

The diesel retail-wholesale spread is $1.456 a gallon, up 0.133 over the past 30 days. That is extra room between what you pay for wholesale diesel and what the street charges, and it has built up while wholesale drifted down. If you sell diesel, that is margin you are keeping right now, and it is worth checking your own board against it before you reprice.

The wholesale side explains most of it. ULSD futures are 4.899, off 6.6% over the month, so the cost coming in has eased while pump prices lagged behind. RBOB told the same story on the gasoline side, 3.235 and down 7.2%. Refiners felt the squeeze from the other direction: the 3:2:1 crack spread is 57.77 now, down 10.83 over 30 days, so the margin for turning crude into product tightened by better than ten dollars while street margin on diesel went the other way.

The reason that gap may not last is crude. Brent is 109.86 and up 3.8%, and it is at the 100 percent mark of its 30-day range, the top of where it has traded all month. Henry Hub is firm too at 3.116, up 7.8%. With crude leading and product following, wholesale diesel could turn back up and start eating into that margin faster than retail can adjust.

Refinery utilization is 16.615, down 4.1% and right at the middle of its range, so there is no supply shock in the run rate to read into today. If Brent holds at the top of its range into next week, the wholesale relief that opened this diesel margin may close, so it looks set to pay to watch your replacement cost daily rather than lean on the spread staying this wide.