NEW DELHI: Northwest European gasoline refining margins dropped to $19.50 a barrel on Friday after sharp gains in regional stocks amid weak exports.

Gasoline exports from Europe to the United States and West Africa remained low so far in May due to weak economics, Refinitiv analyst Raj Rajendran said in a note.

Exports to the US East Coast have reached 573,000 tonnes so far in May compared with a total of 1.05 million tonnes in April.

Exports to West Africa are so far set at 160,000 tonnes, compared with a total of 633,000 the previous month, according to Refinitiv.

Gasoline stocks in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub rose nearly 9% to 1.43 million tonnes in the week to Thursday amid slowing exports, data from Dutch Consultancy Insights Global showed.

US gasoline stocks fell last week by 3.2 million barrels in the week to 219.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.2 million-barrel drop.

Sour crude oil supplies for US Gulf Coast oil refiners will be squeezed in coming weeks, market participants said, as global demand rises following this month’s OPEC+ production cut.