Northwest European gasoline refining margins rose on Wednesday, supported by refinery outages in the region and strong exports. US gasoline stocks fell last week by 1.2 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 million barrel drop, EIA data showed.
Gasoline imports into the US West Coast from Europe are set to hit a record in April as refinery shutdowns have tightened supplies and boosted prices, Refinitiv Eikon ship data showed on Tuesday. Imports were on track to total 2.17 million barrels in April, most since at least November 2015, the earliest Refinitiv data available. Most of the barrels were coming from the Netherlands.
The West Coast has been affected by planned and unplanned refinery shutdowns and Midwest floods preventing ethanol from reaching California, which is geographically isolated in terms of pipelines and energy infrastructure.
Dutch trade union workers decided to extend strike action at Royal Dutch Shell's Pernis refinery that they said will limit production to 65 percent of capacity, union spokesman Egbert Schellenberg said.
Energy shortages in Portugal sharpened on Wednesday as a strike by fuel-tanker drivers entered its third day in the worst industrial unrest of the Socialist government's four-year rule.