Oil Prices: The Crude Reality

Crude oil prices play a primary role in setting gasoline prices. Crude oil is a raw commodity that is used to manufacture gasoline.

The price of crude oil accounts for 56% of the price of gasoline in the decade through 2020, on average.

Not all grades of crude oil are useful for making gasoline. Lighter crude is less dense and will make more gasoline per barrel than heavy crude. Sweet crude has lower sulfur content and more preferable to sour crude with more sulfur.