Gasoline refining margins were little changed on Friday, with prices supported by a nascent arbitrage to the United States that has helped to ease some of the excess in Europe. The Nan Lin Wan, a tanker carrying 84,000 tonnes of gasoline that had been floating for several weeks off Falmouth in the UK is now sailing for New York, according to Reuters shipping data.
The tanker was among several that accounted for more than 400,000 tonnes of gasoline floating off Europe's coast. Traders said they expect the United States and West Africa to take more of Europe's cargoes over the coming weeks. Gasoline stocks in the ARA hub slipped back from an all-time in the week to Thursday, falling from the record of 1.387 million tonnes to 1.362 million tonnes, data from PJK International showed.
US gasoline stocks also fell last week by 1.1 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million barrel drop, according to EIA data. There were no trades of eurobob gasoline during the afternoon trading window. A bid emerged at $646 a tonne fob ARA, compared with a trade on Thursday at $654 a tonne.