Europe distillates-diesel profit margins slide
USO•Northwest European diesel refining margins fell more than 4% as oil prices dropped. Low-sulphur gasoil futures traded at a $68.87-per-barrel premium to Brent, nearly $3 below the previous close; US distillate inventories fell 3.6 million barrels to 99.3 million.
1. Margins and inventories
Northwest European diesel refining margins dropped more than 4% on Wednesday as oil prices fell. Investors were betting that losses for President Donald Trump's Republican Party in US midterm elections could open the door to winding down the US-Israeli war on Iran.
2. US supply figures
US distillate inventories, including diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.6 million barrels last week to 99.3 million barrels, against expectations for a 100,000-barrel decline, the Energy Information Administration said. Stocks are at their lowest since 2003. Refinery crude runs rose by 199,000 barrels per day, and utilisation increased 1.7 percentage points to 94.5%.
3. Emergency fuel loan
The US Energy Department said it would loan 300,000 barrels of fuel oil from the nation's emergency heating oil reserve to four companies to counter surging prices before winter.
