Benchmark European gasoline refining margins fell on Thursday after a sharp rise in crude prices, but a draw in Atlantic Basin stocks capped losses. Oil prices rose 1.5 percent on strong Chinese demand and despite a downbeat report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that showed higher production by key Opec exporters.
Gasoline stocks in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub declined by 3.1 percent to 797,000 tonnes in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy PJK International showed. US gasoline stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.1 million barrels gain.
Lower gasoline availability in the US Gulf could enable more exports from Europe to Latin America, where there has been a steady appetite for cargoes due to persistent refinery problems across the region. No barges of eurobob oxy gasoline traded in the afternoon trading window. Bids emerged at $495 and $500 a tonne fob ARA.
Outside the window, some 14,000 tonnes of eurobob barges traded at $492-$504 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, compared with $496-$505 a tonne on Wednesday. Gunvor sold to Shell and Varo. Shell sold to Total a barge of premium unleaded gasoline at $513 a tonne fob ARA.
The August swap stood at $504 a tonne at the close, up from$499.50 a tonne. Brent crude futures were up 70 cents a barrel at $48.44 a barrel at 1533 GMT. The benchmark ebob gasoline refining margin fell to $11.28 a barrel from $13.08 a barrel.
US front-month RBOB gasoline futures were up 1.03 percent at 1.5364 a gallon. The RBOB crack versus US crude stood at $18.38 a barrel, down from $18.54 a barrel. Glencore sold a cargo to Gunvor at $411 a tonne cif NWE, up from $406.50 a tonne the previous day.
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