New York, Feb 17, 2026, 13:01 EST — Regular session
- NYMEX March RBOB gasoline was down about 0.1% at $1.9080 per gallon. (Barchart)
- U.S. Gasoline Fund (UGA) rose about 0.4%, while refiners Valero, Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66 fell 1%-2%.
- The U.S. national average pump price for regular gasoline was $2.917 a gallon, AAA data showed. (AAA Fuel Prices)
Gasoline prices and fuel-linked stocks traded in opposite directions on Tuesday as crude oil fell to a two-week low on talk of progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations, sapping some of the supply-risk bid across energy markets. Brent fell $1.41, or 2.1%, to $67.24 a barrel and U.S. WTI slid 65 cents, or 1.0%, to $62.24 in volatile trading, Reuters reported. “Sharp two-way swings” may persist as diplomacy, not just supply and demand, drives prices, said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet. (Reuters)
The moves matter because gasoline is one of the fastest-moving prices consumers see, and it can feed directly into inflation expectations. For investors, the gap between crude and gasoline often sets the tone for refiner margins and near-term earnings power.
The wholesale contract traders watch is RBOB — short for reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending — a benchmark for U.S. gasoline sold into New York Harbor and often used as a proxy for broader gasoline prices.
Refiners slipped even as crude sank, a sign the market is watching the margin as much as the headline oil price. When product prices fall faster than crude, the “crack spread” — the difference between refined products and crude that serves as a rough stand-in for refinery profitability — can narrow.
Retail prices stayed comparatively steady in national data, but the U.S. average hides big regional gaps. California’s supply story is back in focus as the state leans more on imports amid shrinking in-state refining capacity, with gasoline routed through the Bahamas to skirt costly U.S.-flag shipping rules, a Bloomberg report carried by Fortune said. “On average, the closures could raise the cost of gasoline for consumers by between 5 and 15 cents a gallon,” Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, was quoted as saying. (Fortune)
A separate bank view kept a lid on longer-term bullishness. Citi said geopolitics could support oil in the near term, but it expects diplomacy later this year to weigh on both crude and product margins; its base case includes deals that would mean “lowering diesel and gasoline cracks by $5-10 dollars.” (Reuters)
Supply risk has not disappeared. A drone attack sparked a fire at Russia’s Ilsky refinery and damaged a reservoir holding oil products, Russian authorities said, adding another reminder that refined-product disruptions can surface quickly even when crude headlines turn softer. (Reuters)
But the path is not clean. If U.S.-Iran talks stall or the region heats up again, traders would likely rebuild a risk premium fast, and gasoline can jump with it — especially into spring refinery maintenance season.
Next up, traders are watching U.S. government fuel-price data due Wednesday, Feb. 18, after the President’s Day holiday delayed the usual Tuesday release. The broader Weekly Petroleum Status Report, including gasoline inventories, is also scheduled for a one-day delay this week, with data for the week ending Feb. 13 due on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern, according to the EIA’s holiday schedule. (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
