EIA releases daily wholesale and retail energy prices for July 17

EIA releases daily wholesale and retail energy prices for July 17

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its daily snapshot of wholesale and retail energy prices for Friday, July 17, 2026. The data includes spot prices and select futures prices at regional and national levels, which are typically updated on weekdays between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., excluding federal holidays.

To compile these figures, the EIA utilizes data from several industry sources. Wholesale spot petroleum prices are provided by Refinitiv, while retail petroleum prices are sourced from the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. Additionally, the agency uses CME Group for prompt-month energy futures and SNL Energy for select spot prices.

Refining Profitability and the Crack Spread

A central component of the EIA's energy reporting is the crack spread, a metric used to determine the short-term profit margins of oil refineries. This figure measures the difference between the cost of crude oil and the selling price of finished products like distillate fuel and gasoline.

The EIA highlights the 3:2:1 crack spread as a representation of typical U.S. Refinery yields: for every three barrels of crude oil processed, a refinery produces two barrels of gasoline and one barrel of distillate fuel.

For a Gulf Coast refinery using Louisiana Light Sweet (LLS) crude oil, the calculation requires adding the spot price of two barrels of Gulf Coast conventional gasoline to the spot price of one barrel of Gulf Coast ultra-low sulfur diesel. Because petroleum products are quoted in gallons, they are multiplied by 42 to convert to barrels. The cost of three barrels of LLS crude is then subtracted, and the result is divided by 3 to reach the final dollar-per-barrel spread.

These values can vary widely due to the interconnected supply and demand balances of three different commodities. The EIA notes that serious disruptions, such as pipeline outages or hurricanes, can cause short-term spikes in these spreads.

Electric Power and the Spark Spread

For natural gas-fired electric generators, the EIA monitors the spark spread. This metric represents the difference between the price a generator receives for electricity and the cost of the natural gas required to produce it.

The EIA calculates this spread using a benchmark heat rate of 7,000 Btu/kilowatthour (kWh), which reflects a modern and efficient natural gas combined-cycle generator. Because one kWh has a heat content of 3,412 Btu, a generator using 7,000 Btu operates at a conversion efficiency slightly below 50%.

The profitability of generators varies by efficiency:

• High-efficiency units: Plants with heat rates below 7,000 Btu/kWh achieve larger spark spreads.
• Low-efficiency units: Older plants with higher heat rates require more fuel, resulting in smaller spark spreads.

Regional variations also impact these figures. New York City typically sees relatively high average spark spreads, whereas the Pacific Northwest experiences lower averages due to an abundance of low-cost hydropower during the early summer and late spring. The EIA does not report spark spreads if they hold negative values.

The agency clarifies that the spark spread is an indicator of market conditions rather than a precise measure of individual profitability, as it excludes fixed expenses, taxes, pipeline costs, and variable operations and maintenance costs.

Other Sector Metrics

Similar metrics exist for other fuel types. Coal-fired generators are measured by "dark spreads" (electricity price minus coal cost), and nuclear generators are measured by "quark spreads" (electricity price minus enriched uranium fuel cost).

Beyond the EIA's national and regional data, private sector tools like P-Fleet provide daily access to CFN fuel prices across the U.S., though some provided data consists of quarterly averages for select metro areas. For instance, diesel prices in Oregon are noted to exclude the state weight-mile tax exemption.