CSP, October 12, 2026: Gasoline prices fall 12 cents Retailers make modest margin recovery: Lundberg

CSP, September 28, 2026: Gasoline price rises 32 cents in 2 weeks to $4.58 Retailers get skimpy margin recovery

CSP, September 14, 2026: Crude oil prices jump even higher Retailers forfeit half their gasoline margin: Lundberg

CSP, August 24, 2026: Oil prices are up again Pump price is likely to jump soon: Lundberg

CSP, August 11, 2026: Gasoline prices are up again but headed for a fall Retailer margin climbs out of danger zone: Lundberg

CSP, July 27, 2026: Pump prices rise 22 cents per gallon Retailers must hike prices further to survive: Lundberg

CSP, October 12, 2026: Gasoline prices fall 12 cents Retailers make modest margin recovery: Lundberg Oct 12, 2026 CSPDailyNews.com Article: The national average retail price of regular grade gasoline was down 12.4 cents per gallon in the past two weeks to $4.451. It sits $1.23 per gallon above its year-ago point. The pump price decline came from lower oil prices during the prior two-week period, which have worked their way through refining and distribution. For its part, oil prices changed relatively little in the past two weeks, dropping a penny in gallon terms. As described here on Sept. 28, lower wholesale gasoline prices and retail margin recovery are here thanks to lower oil prices. But margin recovery of just 7.7 cents to 27.6 cents per gallon was modest. It leaves many retailers in need of another 15 to 20 cents per gallon in operating margin to pay the bills. Competition for sales being extra tough with demand for gasoline in serious shrink mode. The retail price cut would have been dramatically bigger if not for two situations: Keeping gasoline prices higher are record high shipping and insurance costs for crude and its derivatives, due to workarounds to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and to ongoing attacks on shipping in the region. Also, refining capacity reduction around the world, as well as in the U.S., have made the downstream its own world of fuel scarcity, especially in Russia where Ukrainian defense officials said they have damaged more than half of all refining capacity. Russian diesel fuel, critical in world supply, has been short and the government has banned diesel exports. An exception has been made with the U.S. in a deal that sweeps aside U.S. sanctions on Russia to import its diesel to the U.S. Gasoline and diesel output globally impacting one another is affecting supply and price for both and is why the notion of a U.S. ban on its own diesel exports is fading fast. In the U.S., fuel stocks are low. On top of two permanent major refinery closures in California, hurricane threats to U.S. facilities evolving by the hour, damage from wars and accidents afflicting foreign capacity, now we have hurricane threats to facilities evolving by the hour. Meanwhile upstream, the duration of crude oil's current relative price stability can't be known. Short term, though, there is a strong chance of approximate pump price stability. Trilby Lundberg is publisher of the Lundberg Survey of U.S. fuel markets. Lundberg Survey Inc. is based in Camarillo, California. Click here for previous Lundberg Survey reports in CSP Daily News.

---

Tel:(805)383-2400  Email:lsi@lundbergsurvey.com  Fax:(805)383-2424