Diesel Hits Record Even As Oil Prices Fall
Diesel prices hit a record $6.53 a gallon Tuesday even as benchmark crude oil fell to a two-week low.
Simon August · Sep 23, 2026 · 5 min read
Diesel prices hit a record $6.53 a gallon Tuesday even as benchmark crude oil fell to a two-week low.
The national average for diesel stood at $6.52 on Wednesday after dipping by one cent overnight. This is compared with $3.69 a year earlier — several months before the Iran war broke out, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, touched $97.36 a barrel Tuesday, its lowest since Sept. 8, and traded above $100 Wednesday morning, Reuters reported.
Tight global supplies of diesel and other distillate fuels, along with elevated crude prices, have driven diesel prices higher in recent months, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a Sept. 18 analysis.
The EIA measures refiners’ margins with the diesel “crack spread,” the difference between the wholesale price of diesel and the spot price of crude oil.
A high crack spread on top of elevated crude prices has driven retail diesel prices up, the agency said.
The agency forecasts that the U.S. average diesel crack spread will stay above $2 a gallon through November before declining steadily through mid-2027, Lee Tucker of EIA media relations told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The crack spread is an indicator of the relative profitability of producing diesel, not a measure of refiners’ net profits, Tucker added.
The premium European low-sulfur diesel commands over Brent crude hit a record of about $95 a barrel Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he backed the idea of banning U.S. diesel exports, according to Reuters.