Crack or refining spreads in the oil market are the economics of processing a barrel of crude oil into products. Gasoline and distillates, including heating oil, jet, diesel, and other fuels are all petroleum products. The primary ingredient in the products is the raw crude oil, so the price action in gasoline and other fuels that pass through the cracking process in refineries translates back to the highly liquid oil market. Strength in gasoline and distillate products are signs of increased demand for crude oil.
Crack spreads are also a real-time indicator for the earnings