Crack Spread. 3 2 1 Crack Spread. Source U. S. Energy Information Administration, based on Thomson Reuters. A crack spread measures the difference between the purchase price of crude oil and the selling price of finished products, such as gasoline and distillate fuel, that a refinery produces from the crude oil. Crack spreads are an indicator of the short term profit margin of oil refineries because they compare the cost of the crude oil inputs to the wholesale, or spot, prices of the outputs although they do not include other variable costs or any fixed costs. The 3 2 1 crack spread approximates the product yield at a typical U. S. refinery for every three barrels of crude oil the refinery processes, it makes two barrels of gasoline and one barrel of distillate fuel. To calculate the 3 2 1 crack spread for a Gulf Coast refinery that processes Louisiana Light Sweet LLS crude oil, add the spot price for two barrels of Gulf Coast conventional gasoline to the spot price for one barrel of Gulf Coast ultra low sulfur diesel. Since prices for petroleum products are typically quoted in dollars per gallon, they must be multiplied by 4. Then subtract the spot price for three barrels of LLS crude oil. Finally, divide the result by 3 to produce a crack spread in dollars per barrel. The figure illustrates the Gulf Coast LLS 3 2 1 crack spread during 2. Because the 3 2 1 crack spread is a product of the interplay of three commodity prices, each subject to different but interconnected supply and demand balances, the range of values can vary widely. Average retail price of U. S. gasoline black and price predicted on the basis of price of Brent crude oil blue. Black average U. S. Pocket Tanks V1.6'>Pocket Tanks V1.6. Petroleum Other Liquids. Crude oil, gasoline, heating oil, diesel, propane, and other liquids including biofuels and natural gas liquids. Natural Gas. Crack spread is a term used on the oil industry and futures trading for the differential between the price of crude oil and petroleum products extracted from it. U. S. oil production increases and the noise out of OPEC, it is clear that theres going to be a glut of oil on the market as we enter the summer driving. Windows 8 Consumer Preview 64 Bit. A crack spread measures the difference between the purchase price of crude oil and the selling price of finished products, such as gasoline and distillate fuel, that. Crack spread refers to the overall pricing difference between a barrel of crude oil and the petroleum products refined from it. The crack being referred to is. RFA-RIN-5.png' alt='Oil Price Crack Spread' title='Oil Price Crack Spread' />View the latest oil gas industry statistics including oil prices, rig counts, production report oil imports. Find information for NY Harbor ULSD Crack Spread Futures provided by CME Group. View Contract Specs. The savings are falling through the crack. Crude oil prices are diving to levels we havent seen in years. Gasoline, a product thats derived from. Right Light Center Game Ios. Product supply shortages resulting from serious disruptions such as hurricanes or other refinery or pipeline outages can cause large spikes of short duration.