Gasoline refining margins rose to a one-month high to just shy of $10 a barrel on Thursday as US gasoline stocks posted a much larger than expected draw last week. US gasoline stocks fell by 4.2 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 171,000-barrel drop, the US Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.
The draw was largely due to a sharp fall in imports. Stocks in PADD 1 were down around 2.3 million barrels. The draw is likely to encourage extra cargo bookings from Europe to go to the US, even as the end of the summer driving causes flows along the route to slow.
Just over 500,000 tonnes of gasoline has been provisionally booked to go to the US from Europe for September loading, according to Reuters shipping data.
Gasoline stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp oil hub rose marginally to 958,000 tonnes in the week to Thursday, but continued overseas demand capped further gains, Dutch consultancy PJK International said.
Gunvor sold to Shell one barge of benchmark Eurobob gasoline during the afternoon trading session at $507 a tonne fob ARA, up from $467 a tonne fob ARA the previous day.
Some 14,000 tonnes traded throughout the day at $491-$502 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, up from $466-$471 a tonne during the previous session.
Rolympus sold to Total one barge of premium unleaded gasoline at $528 a tonne fob ARA, up from $488 a tonne on Wednesday.
The October swap stood at around $478 a tonne at the close, up from $449.50 a tonne.
Gasoline barge refining margins rose to $9.71 a barrel from $7.64 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil futures were up $1.62 at $49.60 a barrel by 1543 GMT.