LONDON: Northwest European diesel barge diffs gained on Thursday as major disruptions to French refinery operations continued into their second week.
Total said all but one of its fuel distribution depots in the country were working.
Two of its five refineries in France were at a standstill and two more set to halt in coming days.
France has already started using its strategic oil reserves for the first time since 2010 as the strikes cause major shortages in supply.
France normally imports around 1.7 million tonnes of diesel a month and traders are expecting an upsurge in import activity into the country once the blockades at ports and refineries come to an end.
Gasoil stocks held independently in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp storage tanks rose nearly 3 percent in the week to Thursday, according to Dutch consultancy PJK International.
High import volumes from the Middle East and Asia outweighed disruptions from French refineries, boosting inventory levels.
GASOIL
There were no 0.1 percent sulphur gasoil barge or cargo trades.
No barges of 50 ppm gasoil traded.
June Low Sulphur Gasoil futures were $2.50 a tonne higher at $450 a tonne at 1613 GMT.
The June and July contracts were trading in a contango of just 25 cents a tonne, narrower by 25 cents on the previous day.
The diesel refining margin was at $10.54 a barrel, slightly narrower than the $10.79 the previous day.
DIESEL
Six barges of diesel traded at discounts of 50 cents to $2.50 a tonne fob ARA to June diesel gasoil futures, compared with $1 to $3 a tonne discounts on Wednesday.
Glencore sold a cif Amsterdam cargo to Vitol at a $4.50 a tonne premium to the June diesel contract.
JET FUEL
KLM sold two barges to Noble at premiums of $18 and $19 a tonne to June gasoil, compared with trade at a $19 premium the previous day.
No cargoes traded.
FUEL OIL
Barges with a sulphur content of 3.5 percent fuel oil traded at $214-$216 a tonne fob ARA, up slightly from trade the previous day at $212.50-$213.50.
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