Geopolitics Alpha

Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen

Published . Updated .

Covered by 2 outlets: Reuters, Central Oregon Daily.

Who covered it: Center 1 · Not rated 1. How we rate outlets

Key takeaways

  • By Vallari Srivastava and Sumit Saha Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Iran conflict has sent tanker rates soaring, forcing sellers to deepen discounts on heavy crude grades and giving US
  • Exposed: CRAK, XLE, USO, BWET, VLO
  • Market reaction: CRAK −0.7% on the day (still updating); XLE +0.5% on the day (still updating); VLO −1.1% on the day (still updating)

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Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen

By Vallari Srivastava and Sumit Saha Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Iran conflict has sent tanker rates soaring, forcing sellers to deepen discounts on heavy crude grades and giving US

Directly affected

  • No company is named in this report.

Indirectly affected

  • CRAK VanEck Oil Refiners ETF

    VanEck Oil Refiners ETF: it holds refiners, whose margins move with fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story.

  • XLE Energy Select Sector SPDR+6.9% 30d

    Energy Select Sector SPDR: it holds refiners, whose margins move with fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story.

  • USO United States Oil Fund-5.0% 30d

    United States Oil Fund: its price follows crude oil. Linked by “crude” (oil) in this story.

  • BWET Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF-3.3% 17d

    Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF: it tracks tanker freight rates. Linked by “tanker” (tanker shipping) in this story.

  • VLO Valero Energy-4.6% 30d

    Valero Energy (petroleum refining): refiners' margins move with crude and fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story.

  • MPC Marathon Petroleum-0.2% 12d

    Marathon Petroleum (petroleum refining): refiners' margins move with crude and fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story.

  • PSX Phillips 66+2.9% 30d

    Phillips 66 (petroleum refining): refiners' margins move with crude and fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story.

  • XOM ExxonMobil Holdings-2.7% 17d

    ExxonMobil Holdings (petroleum refining): oil producers' profits rise and fall with crude prices. Linked by “crude” (oil) in this story.

Price reaction, T-5 to T+3

TickerT-5T-3T-1T0T+1T+2T+3
CRAK+9.63%+6.91%base-0.69%after closeafter closeafter close
XLE+13.47%+8.12%base+0.49%after closeafter closeafter close
USO+13.96%+6.75%base-0.11%after closeafter closeafter close
BWET+38.94%+24.54%baseafter closeafter closeafter closeafter close
VLO+13.92%+10.34%base-1.14%after closeafter closeafter close
MPC+17.80%+13.33%base-0.91%after closeafter closeafter close
PSX+14.52%+10.23%base-0.02%after closeafter closeafter close
XOM+13.27%+7.37%base+0.36%after closeafter closeafter close

Closing-price change versus T-1, the last close before the story. T0 to T+3 fill in after each market close. Prices: Alpaca IEX.

Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen Reuters

Source: Reuters

Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK) compared with energy stocks (XLE) since 6 Nov 2026

CompanyWhenMoveStatus
Amplify Commodity Trust (BWET)three days earlier+24.54%final price
Amplify Commodity Trust (BWET)five days earlier+38.94%final price
Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK)that day-0.69%still updating
Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK)three days earlier+6.91%final price
Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK)five days earlier+9.63%final price
Marathon Petroleum (MPC)that day-0.91%still updating
Marathon Petroleum (MPC)three days earlier+13.33%final price
Marathon Petroleum (MPC)five days earlier+17.80%final price
Phillips 66 (PSX)that day-0.02%still updating
Phillips 66 (PSX)three days earlier+10.23%final price
Phillips 66 (PSX)five days earlier+14.52%final price
United States Oil Fund (USO)that day-0.11%still updating
United States Oil Fund (USO)three days earlier+6.75%final price
United States Oil Fund (USO)five days earlier+13.96%final price
Valero Energy (VLO)that day-1.14%still updating
Valero Energy (VLO)three days earlier+10.34%final price
Valero Energy (VLO)five days earlier+13.92%final price
Select Sector Spdr Tr (XLE)that day+0.49%still updating
Select Sector Spdr Tr (XLE)three days earlier+8.12%final price
Select Sector Spdr Tr (XLE)five days earlier+13.47%final price
ExxonMobil Holdings (XOM)that day+0.36%still updating
ExxonMobil Holdings (XOM)three days earlier+7.37%final price
ExxonMobil Holdings (XOM)five days earlier+13.27%final price

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Public disclosure filings, not a recommendation. The filing link is the source document. News use of these reports still sits under 5 U.S.C. § 13107(c).

Who collects and who pays in energy

Companies mentioned with this story

  • CRAK Vaneck Etf Trust

    For “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen,” Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: VanEck Oil Refiners ETF: it holds refiners, whose margins move with fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story

  • XLE Select Sector Spdr Tr

    In “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen,” Select Sector Spdr Tr (XLE) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: Energy Select Sector SPDR: it holds refiners, whose margins move with fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story

  • USO United States Oil Fund

    United States Oil Fund (USO) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 6 Nov 2026 story “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen.” Reason on file: United States Oil Fund: its price follows crude oil. Linked by “crude” (oil) in this story

  • BWET Amplify Commodity Trust

    Amplify Commodity Trust (BWET) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 6 Nov 2026 story “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen.” Reason on file: Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF: it tracks shipping freight. Linked by “freight” (container shipping) in this story

  • VLO Valero Energy

    Valero Energy (VLO) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 6 Nov 2026 story “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen.” Reason on file: Valero Energy (petroleum refining): refiners' margins move with crude and fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story

  • MPC Marathon Petroleum

    Marathon Petroleum (MPC) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 6 Nov 2026 story “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen.” Reason on file: Marathon Petroleum (petroleum refining): refiners' margins move with crude and fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story

  • PSX Phillips 66

    Phillips 66 (PSX) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 6 Nov 2026 story “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen.” Reason on file: Phillips 66 (petroleum refining): refiners' margins move with crude and fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story

  • XOM ExxonMobil Holdings

    For “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen,” ExxonMobil Holdings (XOM) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: ExxonMobil Holdings (petroleum refining): refiners' margins move with crude and fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story

Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK) and the energy link

The 6 Nov 2026 story “Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen” names Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK) because of Energy.

The link for Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK) is this: VanEck Oil Refiners ETF: it holds refiners, whose margins move with fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story

Select Sector Spdr Tr (XLE) is here too. Its reason reads: Energy Select Sector SPDR: it holds refiners, whose margins move with fuel prices. Linked by “refiner” (refining) in this story

Price levels for Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK)

USO traded between 143.02 and 171.80 across 20 sessions. The latest close on file is 145.42. XLE traded between 63.05 and 70.15 across 20 sessions. The latest close on file is 66.70.

The energy score for Vaneck Etf Trust (CRAK)

54 out of 100Price not final

“Soaring freight rates give US refiners edge as crude discounts widen” scores 54 out of 100. The score uses 2 sources, and 8 linked companies. The price is not final yet.