Thursday, August 27, 2026

RFS exemption fight heats up as diesel prices squeeze schools

Diesel at $5.65 a gallon retail is doing more to shape the back-to-school budget conversation than any curriculum debate, and refiners are watching Washington as fast as they're watching Hormuz. Crack spreads remain the real story under the crude headlines.

Refined product markets stayed choppy as RBOB and diesel futures whipsawed on easing Strait of Hormuz supply fears, with crude falling even as Russian refinery outages and geopolitical risk linger. Diesel cracks near $92/bbl and retail diesel above $5.60 are squeezing fleets and school districts, while a brewing policy fight over EPA's potential expansion of small refinery exemptions under the RFS is drawing pushback from biofuel and soybean groups. Elsewhere, SAF development continues incrementally with a new demo plant in Switzerland and instrumentation news for producers.

Gasoline
$3.254/gal
▼ 3.18%
ULSD
$4.186/gal
▼ 8.00%
WTI
$83.90/bbl
▼ 2.98%
Gas crack
$52.77/bbl
▼ 1.91
Diesel crack
$91.91/bbl
▼ 12.71
Retail gas
$4.22/gal
unch
Retail diesel
$5.65/gal
unch
Change vs. prior data point. Spot prices & single-product cracks vs WTI, from EIA data ↗

📈 Markets & Prices

Energy Markets Whipsaw As Inventories Tighten And Supply Risks Persist
RBOB and WTI futures bounced across the break-even line Thursday while diesel futures sold off again after bouncing 24 cents off lows Wednesday, reflecting choppy, whipsaw trading.
TACenergy Market Talk · original source ↗
The Strait Isn't Open, Russian Refineries Keep Burning, And Crude Falls Anyway
Energy markets fell for a third straight day as Iran-Oman talks sent prices sharply lower, even though the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved and Russian refineries keep burning.
TACenergy Market Talk · original source ↗
Nymex Overview: Oil Futures Rebound on Strait of Hormuz Reopening Hopes — OPIS
September RBOB rose 1.11 cents to $3.3312/gal while September ULSD fell 4.86 cents to $4.2114/gal amid oil futures rebounding on hopes for Strait of Hormuz reopening.
Morningstar · original source ↗
Front Month Nymex RBOB Gasoline Rose 1.93% to Settle at $3.3842 — Data Talk
Front-month Nymex RBOB gasoline jumped 1.93% to settle at $3.3842, its largest two-day gain since mid-August.
Morningstar · original source ↗
School districts face a back-to-school math problem: The high price of diesel
Diesel prices near $5.60/gal amid the Iran conflict are straining school district transportation budgets at the start of the school year.
NPR · original source ↗
Week 34 - US DOE Inventory Recap
TACenergy's Week 34 recap of the US DOE inventory data.
TACenergy Market Talk · original source ↗
One Great Chart: Mind the Crack Spreadpaywalled
A WSJ chart feature highlights that the real squeeze in energy markets right now is in refined-product crack spreads.
The Wall Street Journal · original source ↗

🏭 Refining & Supply Ops

EIA: US crude inventories up 100,000 bbl
EIA reported US crude oil inventories rose 100,000 bbl to 428.9 million bbl, 1% above the five-year average.
Oil & Gas Journal · original source ↗
Oil Futures Fall
Oil eased in choppy trading as markets weighed diplomatic progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz against renewed global supply-squeeze risks.
Rigzone · original source ↗
Kuwait, Qatar Cargoes Boost Hormuz Oil Flows
Kuwait and Qatar have restored oil shipments through Hormuz to roughly 70% of pre-conflict levels after the two countries combined previously exported about 2 million b/d.
Rigzone · original source ↗

🏛️ Policy & Credits

What is a Small Refinery Exemption?
A primer explains that small refinery exemptions let certain small refiners temporarily avoid part or all of federal renewable fuel (RFS) blending requirements.
American Farm Bureau Federation · original source ↗
Wisconsin Soybean Producers Call for Stronger RFS Support
Wisconsin Soybean Association is urging the administration to oppose a reported expansion of small refinery exemptions under the RFS.
Wisconsin Ag Connection · original source ↗
IRFA Urges Trump Administration To Stay The Course On Biofuels Support
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is pressing the Trump administration to reject reports that EPA may greatly expand RFS refinery exemptions.
1380 KCIM · original source ↗
Metafuels, PSI open SAF demo plant in Switzerland to showcase aerobrew technology
Metafuels and the Paul Scherrer Institute opened a SAF demonstration plant in Switzerland producing jet fuel from green hydrogen and CO2.
Hydrocarbon Processing · original source ↗