Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline margins slip on high inventories

Northwest European gasoline refining margins fell sharply to about $15 a barrel on Friday as data showed sharp stocks in inventories in the Atlantic basin.

Around 6,000 metric tons of Eurobob E10 traded, with BP selling to Varo. That compared with 10,000 tons that traded in the previous session.

Another 6,000 tons of Eurobob E5 traded in the Argus window, with TotalEnergies and Shell selling to ExxonMobil, Gunvor and Varo.

Gasoline stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose by nearly 10% during the week to May 30, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed .

Gasoline stocks stood at 993,000 metric tons and rose as refineries returning from maintenance shutdowns increased output and as imports from northwest Europe and the Middle East increased, Insight Global’s Lars van Wageningen said.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose last week by 2 million barrels to 228.8 million barrels, the EIA said , compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.4 million-barrel draw.

EU and UK gasoline exports are on track to reach 958,000 barrels per day (bpd) so far in May, down from 1.17 million bpd in April, Kpler data showed.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar)