LONDON: Gasoline refining margins in northwest Europe rose on Tuesday to their highest level in over two months, supported by continued strong prompt demand overseas and in the region.
Trading was thin throughout the day as many traders were away from their desks for the annual International Petroleum Week held in London.
The European market has been boosted in recent weeks by strong demand for gasoline in Nigeria and Latin America. Litasco booked on Tuesday a 60,000 tonne tanker to load gasoline to West Africa on Feb. 27-28, shipping data showed.
Data from Reuters and traders showed around 30 cargoes leaving Europe carrying about 1.2 million tonnes of product.
Traders have booked 10 cargoes for West Africa with about 450,000 tonnes of what traders say is mostly gasoline. A further 200,000 tonnes of product have been booked for Latin America and 185,000 tonnes for the United States, according to the data.
Several other cargoes have been booked to Asia, it showed.
Strong demand for storage further supported European gasoline as traders expect higher prices starting in April ahead of the peak summer demand period.
Naphtha cracks also rose as the arbitrage to Asia was open, according to traders.
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