Gasoline Margins Rise as U.S. Refiners Cut Back Production

(Bloomberg) — Gasoline margins rose as refiners limited production to protect profits.

U.S. refinery utilization is estimated to fall for the fourth week in a row, according to the median of responses in a Bloomberg survey of nine analysts. Use rates dropped 0.1 percentage point to 84.5 percent during the week ended July 31, 2.4 percentage points below a year earlier, the Energy Department said Aug. 5. The department will release its report tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.

Refiners