Gasoline refining margins in northwest Europe were marginally higher on Friday after sharp falls the previous day as an oversupplied US market continued to weigh on transatlantic export economics. Exports to the US East Coast significantly slowed in recent days. Most volumes shipped on the route were committed earlier this year or were internal company trading, traders said.
ARA gasoline stocks were little changed in the week to Thursday at 890,000 tonne, according to data from Dutch consultancy PJK International. "US gasoline fundamentals are seasonally weak with demand falling year-on-year, inventories building and utilisation rates at elevated levels - a seemingly unsustainable combination that is likely corrected by further margin compression," Jefferies said in a note on Friday.
US gasoline stocks rose by 2.1 million barrels last week. Exports of reformate, a gasoline blending component, from Europe to China have risen in recent weeks and are expected to reach 350,00-400,000 tonnes in June, according to traders. The gasoline-producing unit at Valero Energy Corp's 168,000 barrel per day (bpd) McKee Refinery in Sunray, Texas, was taken out of production on Thursday following a malfunction, said sources familiar with plant operations.
No barges of Eurobob gasoline traded in the afternoon trading window. Outside the window, 17,000 tonnes of eurobob barges traded at $486-$494 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam compared with $487.50 a barrel on Tuesday. Total, CCI, Freepoint, NIC, Phillips66 and Glencore sold to BP, Shell, Freepoint and Trafigura. Glencore sold a premium unleaded gasoline barge to Gunvor at $490 a tonne fob ARA and another two to Total at $489 a tonne, compared with trades at $487 a tonne the previous day. No cargo trades were reported.
The July swap stood at $482 a tonne at the close, up from $480 a tonne. Brent crude futures were 27 cents a barrel higher at $47.17 1540 GMT. The benchmark ebob gasoline refining margins was at $12.657 a barrel, up from $12.412 a barrel.
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