This is a wrap of the daily gasoline/naphtha and distillates report. Gasoline and distillate margins firmed on Wednesday, buoyed by stronger demand. The Mediterranean gasoil market remains strong with strong seasonal demand, particularly into North Africa, traders said.
At least two tankers have been provisionally booked to load gasoline in ARA in the coming week to go to west Africa where there is firm demand from Nigeria. The west African country has been facing acute shortages of the motor fuel and the government there is increasing its spot cargo purchases. Naphtha margins were underpinned by strong petrochemical margins and blending demand in the Mid-East Gulf, a trader said.
Ineos' Grangemouth refinery has so far not restarted its largest crude distillation unit, according to industry monitor Genscape, despite plans by the company to do so last week. Genscape also said the catalytic reformer at the plant has been shut. Gunvor sold two barges of eurobob gasoline during the afternoon session at $613.50 to Shell and at $614.50 a tonne to Finco. This compares with bids at $592 fob ARA on Friday.
Elsewhere during the day, Shell sold 16,000 tonnes to Gunvor at $613 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, up from trades at $595.50-$600 a tonne the previous session. Gunvor sold to Total a barges of premium unleaded gasoline at $617 a tonne fob ARA, up from $601-$602 a tonne on Friday. There was no cargo activity. The January swap stood at $611 a tonne at the close, up from$597 a tonne in the previous session. The benchmark EBOB gasoline refining margin rose by nearly $1 to $6.86 a barrel. Brent crude futures were down 72 cents at $66.30 a barrel by 1640 GMT.
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