Newswires
Fuel price pressures 'likely to remain elevated,' Fed economist tells Albuquerque leaders
Gas prices surged across the nation this month, and relief could take some time.
That was one of several points
Sly helps
The state average for a gallon of regular gasoline on Wednesday stood at
Gas prices are up as
"There's refining activities that have to take place. (When you have oil,) you have to then process that into gasoline, further process it into diesel fuel," Sly said.
Because refining is a "costly endeavor" and refineries are operating at maximum capacity, refining margins are growing. That is increasing what's known as the crack spread — the price difference between crude oil and its refined products.
In years past, gasoline prices typically followed oil prices. And oil and gas shocks were once smoothed over by plentiful inventory and refining capacity, Sly said.
But inventory has dwindled and capacity has lessened following the COVID-19 pandemic, the
"Now, we're in a situation that when oil prices go up, so does the crack spread above it," Sly said. He added that the destruction of refining facilities in the
Sly said the crack spreads are "likely to remain elevated" — ...