LONDON: Benchmark northwest European gasoline refining margins fell sharply on Wednesday, pressured by a 3% rise in oil prices and a bigger-than-expected jump in US inventories. US gasoline stocks rose by 3.5 million barrels last week to 233.6 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.4 million-barrel rise.

Gasoline exports from northwest Europe dropped to 1.5 million barrels per day in November, down 10% on the month prior and nearly 25% lower year-on-year, according to Clipperdata analysis.

"Falling demand has seen northwest European gasoline cracks slump, putting further pressure on refinery runs which will likely see the gasoline export slowdown extend into December," Clipperdata said.

Russia's Tatneft plans to sell up to 400,000 tonnes of naphtha, or natural stable gasoline, produced at the TANECO refinery for delivery between January and December 2021, the company reported via an electronic trading platform.