Benchmark European gasoline refining margins rose on Thursday as the more expensive summer grade of the fuel began to swap hands this week but trade was thin. Gasoline stocks at independently held storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub rose 10 percent in the week to Thursday to 981,000 tonnes, recovering from a four-month low, data from Dutch consultancy PJK International showed.
There were more gasoline cargoes over the week going to Asia including China than to the United States, according to PJK. Gasoline stocks in the US however fell for the sixth consecutive week, with the largest drop of 2.54 million barrels coming from the East Coast, which normally accepts gasoline imports from across the Atlantic.
High freight rates in the Mediterranean are dampening demand while seasonally low margins have boosted volumes of gasoline in floating storage in the northwest region, traders said. Kuwait National Petroleum Company's total refining capacity will fall to 746,000 barrels per day (bpd) after the closure of its ageing 200,000 bpd Shuaiba refinery on April 1, Chief Executive Mohammad Ghazi al-Mutairi said.
The commodities research community is likely to shrink after new European rules are introduced that require funds to pay separately for bank research from January, with independent firms seen as big winners in the new regime. There were no trades of Eurobob benchmark gasoline in the afternoon window although bids emerged at $538 a tonne fob ARA and offers at $547.00 a tonne.
That compares to a sale by Gunvor to Shell at $534 a tonne on Wednesday's afternoon window. There were also no deals on Argus, likely because it is end of the month, brokers said. Argus assessed Eurobob barges at $545.25 a tonne. On Wednesday, summer grade gasoline traded on an Argus basis at $531 and $538.50 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam. Gunvor sold to Total a barge of premium unleaded gasoline at $558 a tonne fob ARA, up from $540-543 a tonne a day earlier.
The April swap traded at $546.50 a tonne at the close, up from $540 a tonne pm Wednesday. Brent crude futures were up 56 cents at $52.98 a barrel by 1555 GMT. Gasoline barge refining margins rose to $12.543 a barrel from $11.854 a barrel on Wednesday.