Gasoline stocks in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell by 9.4pc in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Gasoline exports from Europe to the US East Coast rose sharply in early July after a fire at a major refinery at the 335,000 barrel-per-day Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery on June 21.

US gasoline stocks fell last week by 1.6 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.2 million-barrel drop, according to EIA data.