When refiners can make significant sums selling diesel and heating oil, known in the industry as distillates, they become less sensitive to the profitability of each barrel of gasoline, which typically accounts for about half of U.S. oil use. “People are running for distillate and storing the gasoline,” said Greg Garland, chief executive of Phillips 66 , in November. As a result, U.S. gasoline inventories have climbed about 3% above their five-year seasonal average. If the gasoline overhang gets too large, it could push refiners to cut back on processing rates, reducing a key element of demand for crude and likely further weighing on U.S. oil prices that have already fallen about 40% since early October. “The biggest downside risk to the oil market in the next couple quarters is not necessarily a crude problem, but more so a gasoline problem,” said Michael Tran, global energy analyst for RBC […]