Hidden crack spread indicator hits twice its normal level

Have you ever noticed that the fuel your family buys costs much more than the raw oil in the ground?

There is a special number that measures that difference.

It is called the 'crack spread.'

Normally, this number stays around $20 to $35 for each barrel.

Lately, it jumped to about $66, which is about two times bigger than usual.

This happened because a very important water road called the Strait of Hormuz became hard to use.

Lots of fuel used to travel through it, but now there is not enough fuel to go around.

Refineries are also working at full speed, with no room to make more fuel.

The United States released some of its emergency oil, which kept the price of raw oil from rising as fast as fuel.

If the fighting in West Asia eases, fuel prices could start coming back down.