Benchmark European gasoline refining margins rose sharply on Thursday after data showed a large draw in ARA stocks. Gasoline stocks at independently held storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub fell by 24.4 percent to their lowest since November, data from Dutch consultancy PJK International showed.
Gasoline stocks dropped to 889,000 tonnes as the motor fuel was exported to China, West Africa and the United States, PJK's Patrick Kulsen said. The big draw pointed to a tighter market in the Atlantic basin after US gasoline stocks fell 2.8 million barrels last week.
Cargoes of floating gasoline are building off the shores of Europe as margins hold near their lowest level seasonally since 2009, traders and market sources told Reuters. At least five ships with some 300,000 tonnes of gasoline are anchored outside northwest Europe as traders and refiners wait for an expected spike in profits before selling them in coming weeks.
There were no trades, bids or offers of European benchmark gasoline in the afternoon window. Earlier in the day, 16,000 tonnes traded at $480-$493 a tonne a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, down from $469-$476 a tonne on Wednesday. Vitol, Rolympus and Total sold to Gunvor. No barges of premium unleaded gasoline traded. The April swap traded at $518.50 a tonne at the close, down from $520.00 a tonne. Brent crude futures were down 1 cent at $50.63 a barrel by 1706 GMT.