LONDON: Gasoline refining margins in northwest Europe rose slightly on Wednesday despite a larger than expected build in US inventories last week, as overseas demand supported.
US gasoline stocks rose 2.3 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 643,000-barrel gain, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday.
Gasoline demand over the past four weeks was 9.2 mln bpd, only 0.6 percent higher from a year ago.
Demand from Asia, the US and the Middle East have been keeping margins supported. * At least three tankers of reformate were reported to be booked to go from northwest Europe to the Asia on Wednesday.
The US government on Wednesday issued final requirements for biofuel use for next year, saying energy companies must boost the amount of renewables in the nation's fuel supply.
The Environmental Protection Agency in a statement set the target for total renewable fuel use at 19.28 billion gallons for 2017.
That includes 15 billion gallons for conventional biofuel, which is mainly corn-based ethanol, and 4.28 billion gallons for the advanced biofuels mandate, confirming figures Reuters previously reported.
US gasoline margins rose by more than 5 percent in early trading Wednesday as the Gulf Region battles a spate of outages at refineries with a combined capacity of over 1 million barrels-per-day.
GASOLINE
There were no trades of benchmark Eurobob gasoline barges in the afternoon window.
Earlier in the day, 8,000 tonnes of Eurobob gasoline traded at $466-$470.50 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, compared with $467-$472 a tonne on Tuesday.
Rolympus sold to Total a barge of premium unleaded at $478 a tonne fob ARA, up from $475 a tonne.
The December swap stood at $470 a tonne at the close, up from $466 a tonne.
Gasoline barge refining margins rose to $9.35 a barrel from $9.07 a barrel.
US December RBOB gasoline futures were trading 0.43 percent higher at $1.4195 a gallon at 1659 GMT.
The US gasoline crack traded at $11.59 a barrel, up from $11.14 a barrel.
NAPHTHA
Glencore sold a cargo to Petredec at $429 a tonne cif NWE, compared with a trade at $430 a tonne on Tuesday.
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