CSP, October 26, 2026: Oil prices jump, but refiners eat the cost as retail margins soar Crude surged $11.42 per barrel in 2 weeks on bigger war premiums, yet wholesale gasoline fell and retail margins hit their best level since June: Lundberg

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, October 26, 2026: Oil prices jump, but refiners eat the cost as retail margins soar Crude surged $11.42 per barrel in 2 weeks on bigger war premiums, yet wholesale gasoline fell and retail margins hit their best level since June: Lundberg Oct 26, 2026 CSPDailyNews.com Article: Crude oil prices surged in the past two weeks, on expanded “war premiums.” West Texas Intermediate's near-month futures price was $91.85 per barrel on Oct. 9 and closed on Oct. 23 at $103.27 The $11.42 increase translates to 27.2 cents per gallon. But U.S. refiners did not pass through such an increase to their jobber and dealer and other customers. In fact, wholesale gasoline prices continued falling, slashing U.S. refining margins on gasoline. The many news stories of high—very high—refinery profits have not thus far been updated to reflect contemporary, far tougher conditions. Refiners have the double squeeze of much higher oil prices to pay, and a smaller gasoline market that has been forcibly shrunk by the extended period of high consumer prices. The margin sacrifice by U.S. refiners is enabling hefty margin increases in the retail sector, for now. Margin on regular grade widened 13.1 cents to the impressive level of 40.7 cents per gallon in our Oct. 23 snapshot. Retail margin had not been in such happy territory since June, and it is a far cry from miserable retail margin conditions of early September. Wholesale gasoline price reductions during the two weeks included a drop of 10.5 cents nationally in unbranded rack. Behind that average, Gulf Coast markets saw an average price crash of 28 cents in unbranded and 26.4 cents in branded. Rack, direct dealer and jobber-supplied dealer buying prices fell nearly everywhere. The West Coast saw cuts averaging more than 27 cents in branded rack, and nearly 26 cents in unbranded. The huge exception was the Midwest, where the ExxonMobil refinery at Joliet, Illinois, had an operations problem that cut supply and sent branded racks up more than 44 cents on average. The Joliet complex feeds mega-market Chicago as well as many other parts of the broad region Crude oil prices will continue to gyrate. From here, if oil prices do slip but just moderately, with the war premiums that have been expanded by increased Houthi attacks and continuing Ukraine versus Russia attacks shrinking down some, then the retail gasoline market will be hit with part, but not all, of the oil price surge just seen. One of the possible near-term retail price scenarios: a rise of 5 to 8 cents per gallon more at the retail gasoline pump. 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.

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