“I can’t do my job without News Items.” — Jim Cramer, CNBC.
1. Liz Dicken, RBN Energy:
A $100/bbl diesel crack spread is an incredibly strong market signal, but it doesn’t translate to higher refinery output because most U.S. refiners already operate at or near their practical limits. As global supply disruptions drain inventories and foreign buyers pull more barrels from the U.S., diesel prices have surged even as domestic refinery runs remain near historic highs.
2026 will be remembered by some as the year that diesel cracks topped the century mark ($100/bbl) for the first time. On August 17, the U.S. Gulf Coast diesel crack spread (vs. WTI Cushing) surpassed that sky-high level. On Monday, September 1, 2026, the diesel crack closed at $103.29/bbl, the highest close on record, before reaching a record high intraday price the following day of $108.02/bbl. As of publication, the diesel crack soared even higher, closing at a new record high of $107.72/bbl on September 10. It’s important to note that global crude markets are not terribly short of crude in the traditional sense (despite various geopolitically driven constraints). Instead, the world is struggling to refine enough crude oil into middle distillates to satisfy demand. U.S. distillate stocks in August were on track for their lowest end-of-month level since April 2005 and were the lowest for the month since 1951. (Sources: rbnenergy.com, eia.gov. A crack spread is the difference between the price of crude oil and the price of the refined product made from it.)
2. The continued closure of a critical pipeline in Saudi Arabia risks keeping 4 percent of the world’s oil supply from reaching international markets and driving energy prices even higher. Saudi Arabia scrambled this week to reroute roughly four million barrels of oil a day when it temporarily shut its East-West pipeline, which it said on Friday was damaged by an Iran-backed militia. The pipeline, a 750-mile network that transports crude across Saudi Arabia to ports on the Red Sea, had been the kingdom’s primary way of exporting oil since the war in Iran began in February. (Source: nytimes.com)
