Refinery outages add to local fuel costs as WTI holds near $92
Refinery problems are adding to fuel costs in some regions, on top of a crude market that already ran hot. West Texas Intermediate was near $92 a barrel Friday after a modest weekly pullback. Brent was around $104. In a number of markets the pump price is running higher than those crude levels alone would explain.
Rack pricing
For jobbers the crude benchmark tells you only part of the cost. When a refinery in your supply region trims runs or goes offline, wholesale rack prices move before the national crude screen catches up. Product gets tight locally even when futures are flat or easing. Unbranded buyers feel it first, because that is where a supplier pulls back allocation when barrels get scarce.
Crude is elevated and jumpy right now. The extra cents showing up at the pump in some markets are coming from refined-product supply, and a jobber watching only the WTI tape could misread where the cost is landing.
Where crude sits
Today's prices are high against the last few years, low against the long record. WTI is up roughly 40 percent from last September, and Brent about 50 percent. Both sit well above last year's averages near the mid-$60s.
They are nowhere near the extremes. WTI topped $145 in July 2008. After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine it briefly ran above $120, with Brent near $139. So the current market is expensive and twitchy, and still well short of a record.
The North Carolina gas plant
State regulators rejected a Duke Energy gas-fired power plant, ruling it should not proceed. It is a power-generation fight, so the direct read for fuel marketers is small.
The wider gas picture matters more to operators. The EIA expects US natural gas output to reach record highs in 2026 and 2027 as producers ramp up, with both supply and demand climbing. For anyone running gas-fired equipment or watching terminal utility bills, cheaper and plentiful gas could ease one line on the cost sheet even while liquid fuels stay firm.
What to watch
Track the spread between your regional rack and the crude tape. If it keeps widening, a refinery near you is likely running short, and allocation could tighten next. Note whether the weekly crude pullback holds or reverses; near $92 WTI, small moves swing branded and unbranded costs fast. The gas build heading into 2026 is worth following too, for any relief on the utility side of the yard.