European gasoline margins decline on US worries

Northwest European gasoline refining margins declined on Thursday, weighed down by limited exports to the United States where stocks rose sharply last week. Gasoline stocks held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp storage and refining hub fell by over 4.4 percent in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy PJK International showed. Exports east continued to pull cargoes out of Europe, but rising stocks in the United States limited arbitrage to the key consumer nation.
Gasoline exports to West Africa were also expected to rise with several tankers booked on the route in recent days. The renewed imports follow a lull in Nigerian buying in recent weeks and come ahead of the Christmas period, when gasoline demand typically peaks. The 400,000 bpd Samref refinery in Saudi Arabia confirmed that it would close for planned maintenance from March 10 until April 30. A heavy spring maintenance schedule has been pulling various cargoes out of Europe to sail east in recent weeks.
US gasoline stocks rose last week by 3.6 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a 1.2 million-barrel gain. French oil and gas company Total said on Thursday that production had resumed gradually at its 338,000 barrel-per-day refinery and petrochemical platform in Antwerp, Belgium after a $1 billion upgrade.
The US Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it will require fuel companies to blend slightly more biofuels into the nation's gasoline and diesel next year, reversing a previous proposal for a small cut.
No barges of eurobob gasoline traded in the afternoon window. Bids emerged at $596 and $599 a tonne fob ARA, but there were no offers. Some 4,000 tonnes traded elsewhere at $601 and $605.50 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, compared with $600 a tonne on Wednesday. BP sold to Gunvor.
Gunvor sold to Total one barge of premium unleaded gasoline at $597 a tonne fob ARA, compared with $604 a tonne. The December swap stood at $593.50 a tonne at the close, down from $595.50 a tonne. The benchmark EBOB gasoline refining margin fell to $7.27 a barrel from $7.81 a barrel. Brent crude futures rose by 25 cents to $62.80 a barrel by 1624 GMT.