Europe distillates-diesel profit margins firm
USO•Northwest European diesel refining margins rose more than 4% on Friday as low-sulphur gasoil futures traded at a $69.29-per-barrel premium to Brent, up about $3 from the previous close.
1. Margins rise
Northwest European diesel refining margins rose more than 4% on Friday. Low-sulphur gasoil futures traded at a premium of $69.29 a barrel to Brent crude futures by 1645 GMT, compared with $66.26 at the previous close.
2. Stock releases and inventories
The International Energy Agency said member countries will release around 71 million barrels of emergency oil and product stocks through the end of February 2027, including about 15 million barrels of diesel. Gasoil stocks at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub edged up 0.2% from the prior week to 1.79 million tons, nearly 22% below a year earlier. US distillate stockpiles rose by 4.1 million barrels to 103.3 million last week, against expectations for a 1 million-barrel decline.
