Europe gasoline refining margins drop
XOM•Northwest European gasoline refining margins fell by more than $6 to $44.54 a barrel on Thursday, despite lower gasoline supplies in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub. ARA gasoline stocks declined 3.4% on the week to 1.02 million metric tons.
1. Margins and inventories
Northwest European gasoline refining margins dropped by more than $6 to $44.54 a barrel on Thursday, down from $51.15. Gasoline stocks in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub fell 3.4% on the week to 1.02 million metric tons, 15% below a year earlier; strong export demand drew down inventories.
2. Barge trades
About 7,000 metric tons of E5 gasoline barges traded, including 4,000 tons of winter grade. A further 12,000 metric tons of E10 barges traded, half of which was winter grade.
3. Policy and bioethanol
A European Commission spokesperson said high-level EU-U.S. contacts are ongoing over a reported U.S. plan to ban diesel exports, which the EU believes could negatively affect both sides. Ukraine asked the EU to increase its bioethanol export quota by 60,000 metric tons this year, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said, following a doubling in domestic production capacity.
