The Northwest European gasoline refining margin firmed on Thursday on Asian and US demand mopping up some oversupply in the region, while seasonal refinery maintenance and some plant recalibrations to reduce output also helped to boost prices. Two small crude distillation units (CDU) at the 210,000 bpd Ineos oil refinery at Grangemouth, Scotland, are shut down, though its main CDU is still operating, according to Genscape.
Gasoline stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub were down more than 2 percent as exports to the United States and Asia Pacific rose, data from Dutch consultancy PJK International showed.