Gasoline crack spreads in the U.S. have reached several-year highs in recent months, boosting profitability for refiners, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said today. In April 2015, conventional gasoline in the New York Harbor area averaged $1.79 per gallon, while the Brent crude oil spot price averaged $1.41 per gallon. The 38-cent differential was the highest crack spread for the month of April since 2007, EIA said.
The high crack spreads are being driven by low oil prices, strong U.S. gasoline consumption and exports and higher-than-expected demand for fuel in Europe and other countries.
EIA also said East Coast refiners processed the largest volumes of crude oil in April for that month since 2010.
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