Gasoline refining margins in northwest Europe edged higher on Monday but further gains were dampened by the cancellation of a major Nigerian tender and limited activity in the United States due to a national holiday. Nigerian state oil company NNPC cancelled a tender it issued last week to buy up to 1.55 million tonnes of gasoline from January to April, sources said on Monday, after prices spike following the original tender announcement. Struggling commodities trader Noble Group has completed the sale of its US-focused oil business to the world's largest oil trader Vitol, but net proceeds from the deal are lower than a previously announced estimate, the company said on Monday.
Gunvor sold a barge of eurobob gasoline to Finco at $637 a tonne fob ARA, up from deals at $633 a tonne on Friday. Elsewhere, 2,000 tonnes traded at $641 a tonne fob ARA, up from $633.50 a tonne in the last session. BP sold to Shell.
Three barges of premium unleaded gasoline traded at $660 a tonne fob ARA, down from $659 a tonne. Shell sold to Total. BP offered a cargo at $652 a tonne fob Med loading February 1-5.
The February swap stood at $642.25 a tonne at the close, down from $636.50 a tonne. The benchmark EBOB gasoline refining margin edged higher to $5.33 a barrel from $5.01 a barrel at the close.