LONDON: Gasoline refining margins in northwest Europe fell sharply to below $7 a barrel on Monday as crude prices jumped, while steady exports to the US and west Africa capped losses.
Oil rallied to a five-week high as speculation intensified over potential producer action to support prices amid a crude glut.
Overseas demand, particularly from West Africa, in recent days has helped give cracks in Europe a floor.
Philadelphia Energy Solutions was planning to restart the 85,000 barrel-per-day fluid catalytic cracking unit in the Girard Point section of its Philadelphia refinery complex by Monday, according to a source familiar with the plant's operations.
Western naphtha arrivals into Asia for Sept. are expected to hit 900,000 - 1 million tonnes, well below the 12-month running average of about 1.45 million tonnes, based on assessments by Thomson Reuters Supply Chain & Commodities Research.
Japan's naphtha imports for the petrochemical sector fell 8 percent in July from the same month a year earlier, government figures showed on Monday.
GASOLINE
There were no Eurobob trades during the afternoon trading window.
Some 10,000 tonnes traded in the morning at $445-$452 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, compared with trades at $441-$447 a tonne on Friday.
Gunvor and Total sold to Shell, Varo and BP.
Litasco sold a barge of premium unleaded gasoline to Total at $477.50 a tonne fob ARA, compared with $472-$474 a tonne.
Gasoline barge refining margins fell to $6.90 a barrel from $8.51 a barrel. * The September swap stood at around $462 a tonne at the close, up from $451 a tonne.
Brent crude oil futures were up $1.16 at $48.13 a barrel by 1538 GMT.
US August RBOB gasoline futures were up 1.7 percent at 1.3942 a gallon. * The US gasoline crack was trading at $12.98 a barrel, up from $12.74 a barrel.
NAPHTHA
No cargoes traded.
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