Oil prices drop below $100 while gasoline prices hit highest since 2022, boosting refiners' profits.

Crude oil prices fell below $96 a barrel amid ceasefire talks, but gasoline prices rose to $4.56 per gallon, the highest since summer 2022. This divergence is driving refining profit margins, measured by the 3-2-1 crack spread, to a near-record $56.22 per barrel. Major refiners like Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, Phillips 66, and HF Sinclair reported strong earnings and raised dividends, benefiting from constrained global refining capacity and low inventories. The VanEck Oil Refiners ETF is near its all-time high, reflecting investor optimism in the refining sector despite falling crude prices.