EUROPE: Benchmark northwest European gasoline barge refining margins were broadly stable on Thursday around $16 a barrel as stockpiles in north western Europe rose and transatlantic exports were slowing.

Gasoline stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area rose 4% in the week to Thursday to an 11-week high, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Gasoline stocks stood at 1.35 million tonnes, rising amid slower exports to the United States and some stock building by traders, Insights Global’s Lars van Wageningen said.

Water levels at the Kaub point of the Rhine were little changed at 71 cm on Thursday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, compared with 400 cm around the same time last year.

Germany’s electronic waterway information service for inland shipping, or ELWIS, forecasts levels to fall further to 68 cm in the coming days.

US gasoline stocks fell last week by 3.3 million barrels on the week to 225.1 million barrels, EIA data showed, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.9 million-barrel drop.

Oil refiners Shell and Repsol have slashed their use of natural gas at European sites as the region looks to curb demand in case of further supply disruptions from long-time major provider Russia.

Demand during the US peak summer driving season has been lacklustre as a result of inflationary pressures, weighing on European exports along the key transatlantic route.