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Energy & Financial Markets

What drives petroleum product prices?

Graphs & data updated monthly and quarterly

What drives petroleum product prices: Overview

Although crude oil prices receive a lot of media attention, consumers purchase petroleum products refined from crude oil rather than the crude oil itself. Refiners produce many petroleum products from crude oil for a wide range of applications. Prices for some petroleum products, such as gasoline, are very visible to consumers, while others are much less so. This section focuses on the two most prominent groups of petroleum products—gasoline and distillate (or diesel fuel).

Graphs are updated with new data on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis according to the schedule below.

All graphs
Graph update schedule by section Update frequency Last update
Balance    
Gasoline Inventories and gasoline 3rd minus 1st month futures contract Quarterly 12/31/2023
Distillate Inventories and heating oil 3rd minus 1st month futures contract Quarterly 12/31/2023
 
Trade    
U.S. total gasoline net imports Monthly 03/12/2024
U.S. total gasoline net imports by PADD Quarterly 12/31/2023
U.S. distillate fuel net imports Monthly 03/12/2024
U.S. distillate fuel net imports by PADD Quarterly 12/31/2023
 
Production    
Gasoline refinery output Monthly 03/12/2024
Distillate refinery output Monthly 03/12/2024
Refinery output Monthly 03/12/2024
Production and futures prices Annual 12/31/2023
 
Spot Prices    
Gasoline spot prices Monthly 02/29/2024
Distillate spot prices Monthly 02/29/2024
RBOB futures price and crack spread Monthly 02/29/2024
Heating oil futures price and crack spread Monthly 02/29/2024
RBOB - Brent Crack Spread Range Monthly 02/29/2024
ULSD - Brent Crack Spread Ranges Monthly 02/29/2024
 
Financial Markets    
Average daily open interest of petroleum product futures contracts Quarterly 12/31/2023
Average daily volume of petroleum product futures contracts Quarterly 12/31/2023
U.S. exchange-traded futures positions by money managers Quarterly 12/31/2023
 
Consumption    
Petroleum product consumption Annual 12/31/2023
U.S. consumption of gasoline and retail gasoline prices Monthly 03/12/2024
U.S. consumption of distillate and retail heating oil prices Monthly 03/12/2024