LONDON: Benchmark diesel refining margins in northwest Europe rose by 5 percent on Wednesday with inventories in the region set to decline due to lower refinery output.
US distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose last week by 84,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 1 million-barrel drop, EIA data showed.
However, inventories on the US East Coast dropped to their lowest since July 2018, the data showed.
Around 250,000 barrels per day of European refining capacity, or roughly 2pc of the region's demand, is estimated to have been impacted by the closure of the Druzhba pipeline following a contamination of crude oil, the International Energy Agency said..
Salvage crews began removing two gasoline barges damaged in a weekend collision with a deep-draft vessel, setting the stage for two-way traffic to reopen in the Houston Ship Channel on Wednesday, officials said.
Demand in the Mediterranean has weakened sharply in recent weeks led by Turkey, Italy and north Africa, traders said.
Imports of gasoil and diesel in the Mediterranean basin could be 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) lower year-on-year in 2019, at roughly 540,000 bpd, consultancy FGE Energy said.
Imports were revised down 25,000 bpd from previous expectations.
FGE forecasts Turkey's gasoil/diesel demand to contract by 30,000 bpd, or 6pc, year on year amid an economic slowdown.
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