European gasoline refining margins rose slightly on Thursday as markets braced for the impact of Hurricane Irma, which followed Hurricane Harvey that devastated Texas. The gasoline barge crack swap was its highest since the end of May at around $12.52 a barrel. After Harvey hit, US imports of European gasoline jumped, pushing up margins. Irma could see a higher draw again but further price gains were capped by lower-than-expected fuel draws on US inventories.
Gasoline stocks fell 3.2 million barrels, according to US government data, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 5.4 million-barrel drop. Hurricane Irma ploughed past the Dominican Republic toward Haiti on Thursday after devastating a string of Caribbean islands and killing at least 10 people as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century took aim at Florida.
Caribbean and Gulf Coast energy infrastructure was shutting down due to Irma, even as recovery operations from Harvey were underway. Oil and power sector workers from France's CGT trade union will join a 24-hour nationwide strike next week to protest against the government's planned labour reforms, although limited support from other unions could blunt its impact.
No barges traded in the afternoon window but a bid surfaced at $606 a tonne fob ARA and an offer at $617 a tonne. In the previous sessions, barges traded at $613-$614 a tonne fob ARA. Elsewhere, 14,000 tonnes traded at $616-$618 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, up from $615-$619 a tonne on Wednesday. Shell, Total and Vitol sold all the tonnage to BP.
There were no trades of premium unleaded gasoline in the afternoon window. In the Mediterranean, Gunvor sold a cargo of premium unleaded gasoline to Trafigura at $588 a tonne on a fob basis loading September 17-21. The October swap stood at $542 a tonne at the close, unchanged for second session. The benchmark EBOB gasoline refining margin rose to $19.13 a barrel from $18.55 a barrel at the close. Brent crude futures were 17 cents higher at $54.37 a barrel by 1653 GMT. US front-month RBOB gasoline futures were 1.34 percent lower at 1.6508 a gallon.