Benchmark northwest European gasoline refining margins rose sharply on Thursday, buoyed by lower oil prices and inventory drawdowns on both sides of the Atlantic. US gasoline stocks fell 3.2 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. This compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 million barrels drop.
Stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub declined slightly to 985,000 tonnes in the week to Thursday, according to data from Dutch consultancy PJK International.