Gasoline refining margins were little changed on Thursday and were supported by an unplanned shutdown on the gasoline unit at Petroineos' Lavera refinery. The fluid catalytic cracker at the refinery shut unexpectedly on April 5, industry monitor Genscape said, and there is no given timeline on when it will resume operations. Traders said Petroineos had to declare force majeure on gasoline loadings from the refinery as a result.
Slower imports and slightly higher exports led to lower gasoline stocks independently held storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub, data from Dutch consultancy PJK International showed
There were no trades of eurobob gasoline during the afternoon trading window. There were no bids or offers. Elsewhere, 8,000 tonnes traded at $692.50-$694.25 a tonne fob ARA, up from $684-$687.50 a tonne the previous session. Van Raak, Total and NIC sold to BP, Trafigura and Mabanaft.
No barges of premium unleaded gasoline traded. An offer emerged at $700 a tonne fob ARA. The May swap stood at $700 a tonne at the close, up from $690 a tonne on Wednesday. The benchmark EBOB gasoline refining margin was little changed at $7.24 a barrel. Brent crude futures were up 93 cents $74.41 a tonne at 1545 GMT.