Growing octane needs widen the price difference between premium and regular gasoline

U.S. Energy Information Administration ------- The difference between U.S. average retail prices for premium and regular gasoline reached 50 cents per gallon in late 2016, and it has remained near that level so far in 2017. This price difference, or spread, has been generally increasing since 2000. Many factors on both the supply and demand sides are influencing this trend.One of the main performance characteristics of motor gasoline is octane, a measure of gasoline’s resistance to spontaneous combustion. In the United States, retail gasoline is usually classified by its octane rating: regular gasoline with a typical octane rating of 87 is the least expensive option, and premium gasoline with a typical octane rating of 91 to 93 is the most expensive option. The price spread between the two grades of gasoline is most often representative of the cost to produce the additional octane. To learn more click on the picture below to read the article.