Diesel Profits Near Record With Supplies Dwindling Into Winter

  • Supplies at the lowest level on record for this time of year
  • Rolling diesel prompt spread at highest point since May

A driver fills the tank of his truck with diesel.

Photographer: Mark Renders/Getty Images 

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Diesel supplies are so tight heading into winter that profits for producing the heating and trucking fuel are nearing a record high.

The diesel crack spread, a measure of refining profits, touched $77.32 Friday, just shy of the all-time intraday high hit in June. The supply shortage is also evident in the prompt spread -- the difference between the two nearest futures contracts -- which is at the widest level since May.