Diesel Market Dashboard
NYMEX ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures closed at $4.710 a gallon on Oct 19, 2026 (−$0.189 on the day), putting the diesel crack over Brent at $89.63 a barrel. US pump diesel averaged $6.179 a gallon in the EIA survey of Oct 12, 2026, $1.85 above gasoline. Distillate stocks are 12% below the five-year average for this week.
Diesel at a Glance
| Measure | Latest | Change | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| ULSD futures (NYMEX HO) | $4.710/gal | −$0.189 day · +115% year | Oct 19, 2026 |
| Diesel crack vs Brent | $89.63/bbl | −$6.27 day · +$59 year | Oct 19, 2026 |
| Diesel crack vs WTI | $100.12/bbl | — | Oct 19, 2026 |
| US retail diesel (EIA) | $6.179/gal | −$0.020 week | Oct 12, 2026 |
| Distillate stocks (EIA) | 102.6 Mb | −2.5 Mb week · −12% vs 5-yr avg | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Distillate demand (product supplied) | 4.3 Mb/d | prior week 3.7 | Oct 9, 2026 |
| US refinery utilization | 93.5% | — | Oct 9, 2026 |
Futures are daily settlement closes (the latest is not intraday); EIA figures are weekly. The crack is ULSD × 42 gallons minus crude, a gross margin before refinery operating costs. For the all-products margin see the 3:2:1 crack spread.
ULSD Futures and the Diesel Crack
Daily NYMEX ULSD settlement (left axis, $/gal) and the crack over Brent (right axis, $/bbl = ULSD × 42 − Brent). A rising crack with flat crude means diesel itself is tightening.
Wholesale Diesel by Hub, Weekly
EIA weekly ULSD spot prices (FOB, before tax and retail margin), $ per gallon.
From Barrel to Pump: What a Gallon of Diesel Costs
| Layer | $/gal | Share of pump price | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crude oil (Brent ÷ 42) | $2.54 | 41% | |
| Refining margin (ULSD futures − crude) | $2.18 | 35% | |
| Distribution, retailer margin, state and local taxes | $1.21 | 20% | |
| Federal excise tax | $0.24 | 4% | |
| US average pump price | $6.18 | 100% |
Aligned to the EIA survey date, Oct 12, 2026: Brent $106.65 a barrel and ULSD futures $4.723 a gallon that day. The third row is what is left after crude, refining margin and the 24.4¢ federal excise are taken out, so it absorbs state and local taxes and any difference between the New York Harbor futures price and the local wholesale price. It is an accounting residual, not a measured cost. Gasoline's equivalent is on why gas prices are high.
Wholesale Spot Prices by Hub
| Hub | $/gal | vs last week | Week of |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Harbor Ultra-Low Sulfur No. 2 Diesel | 4.910 | +$0.039 (+0.8%) | Oct 9, 2026 |
| U.S. Gulf Coast Ultra-Low Sulfur No. 2 Diesel | 4.640 | −$0.091 (−1.9%) | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Los Angeles CARB Ultra-Low Sulfur No. 2 Diesel | 5.011 | +$0.141 (+2.9%) | Oct 9, 2026 |
EIA weekly spot prices, free on board, before taxes and retail margin. Los Angeles carries a $0.37 premium to the Gulf Coast (California requires its own CARB-grade diesel) and New York Harbor a $0.27 premium. The NYMEX futures contract settles against New York Harbor ULSD.
Inventories and Demand
Distillate stocks
- 102.6 million barrels in the week of Oct 9, 2026, −2.5 Mb on the week.
- The same week averaged 116.9 Mb over the previous 5 years (range 106.1–129.3): current stocks are 14.3 Mb (12%) below that average.
- The full 5-year band is charted on US fundamentals; for the seasonal heating side see heating oil prices.
Demand and exports
- Distillate product supplied (the EIA's demand proxy) was 4.3 million b/d in the week of Oct 9, 2026, with refineries running at 93.5% of capacity.
- The US exported about 1,745 thousand b/d of distillate in July 2026; Netherlands was the largest buyer at 255 thousand b/d. See US fuel exports by country.
- Exports tie US diesel to the world market: when overseas prices rise, barrels leave the US and domestic stocks tighten.
Diesel Around the World
At the pump, diesel averages $6.18 a gallon in the US, $9.08 across the EU-27 and $10.09 in the UK (week of Oct 12, 2026, converted at the ECB rate). The difference is mostly tax. All 27 EU countries are ranked on diesel prices worldwide.
Diesel Market FAQ
What is the diesel crack spread?
It is the gross margin a refinery earns turning a barrel of crude into diesel: the ULSD futures price (per gallon) times 42 gallons, minus the crude price. At the Oct 19, 2026 close ULSD futures were $4.710 a gallon, which is $197.82 a barrel against Brent at $108.19, a crack of $89.63 a barrel. Over the past year the crack has ranged from $26 to $115 and averaged $61.
How much of the pump price of diesel is crude oil?
In the week of Oct 12, 2026 Brent crude was about $2.54 of every gallon of US diesel (41% of the $6.18 pump price). Refining margin added $2.18, distribution, retailer margin and state and local taxes about $1.21, and the federal excise tax 24.4 cents. The refining margin is a large and volatile layer, so diesel can move sharply even when crude is flat.
Why do distillate inventories matter for diesel prices?
Distillate fuel oil is diesel and heating oil, and the weekly EIA stock figure shows how much cushion the US has. Stocks were 102.6 million barrels in the week of Oct 9, 2026, 14.3 million below the average of 116.9 for the same week in the previous 5 years. Low stocks mean a supply shock cannot be absorbed from inventory, so prices rise to ration demand.
What is the diesel futures benchmark?
NYMEX New York Harbor Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel futures (symbol HO), quoted in dollars per gallon. The contract is also called heating oil futures because the product is the same, which is why this site's heating oil page and this page use the same price. In Europe the equivalent is ICE low sulphur gasoil.
How often is this page updated?
Futures closes and the crack update every hour from the daily close; EIA retail diesel is published every Monday, spot prices and inventories on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Each figure on this page carries its own date.