U.S. Rack Gasoline Prices Extend Gains; ULSD Pulls Back

DAVENPORT, FL (DTN) — Wholesale rack prices for gasoline across the United States moved modestly higher Tuesday (3/10) while diesel prices retreated from recent highs as crude futures pulled back after briefly trading above $100 barrel earlier this week.

Conventional unleaded gasoline rack prices averaged $2.8285 gallon, edging up 0.04cts from Monday’s $2.8281 gallon, according to DTN data. The national average remains sharply higher compared with last week after gasoline racks rallied more than 40cts over the past several trading sessions.

Nationwide ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) rack prices averaged $3.6420 gallon, declining 8.35cts from Monday’s $3.7255 gallon, reversing part of last week’s sharp advance that pushed diesel racks more than $1 gallon higher from early March levels.

On gasoline racks, PADD 1 posted the largest increase, rising 11.86cts to $2.5437 gallon, followed by PADD 3, up 9.41cts to $2.4707 gallon. PADD 5 climbed 9.29cts to $3.5365 gallon, while PADD 4 increased 8.32cts to $2.5858 gallon. PADD 2 saw the smallest rise, gaining 4.78cts to $2.3833 gallon, the same data showed.

Compared with the national average of $2.8285 gallon, all PADDs traded at a discount except PADD 5, which stood at a 70.80cts premium to the U.S. benchmark. The deepest discount was seen in PADD 2 at 44.52cts below the national average, followed by PADD 3 at 35.78cts, PADD 1 at 28.48cts, and PADD 4 at 24.27cts below the benchmark.

ULSD racks declined across most PADDs with the exception of PADD 4, where prices increased 4.34cts to $3.4881 gallon. The largest decline occurred in PADD 1, where ULSD dropped 12.45cts to $3.7688 gallon. PADD 3 fell 10.29cts to $3.5786 gallon, followed by PADD 2, down 6.06cts to $3.4402 gallon, while PADD 5 edged lower 2.57cts to $4.1662 gallon.

Relative to the national ULSD rack average of $3.6420 gallon, PADD 5 held the strongest premium at 52.42cts, followed by PADD 1 at 12.68cts above the U.S. benchmark. PADD 4 traded slightly above the national average at 4.61cts premium, while PADD 3 and PADD 2 stood 6.34cts and 20.18cts below the national average, respectively.

In the futures market, the front month NYMEX ULSD contract for April delivery traded at $3.5397 gallon, up 4.59cts, while NYMEX RBOB gasoline for April fell 9.68cts to $2.7116 gallon. Crude benchmarks also retreated, with WTI April crude trading at $88.78 barrel, down $5.99, pulling back from levels above $100 barrel reached earlier yesterday.