Northwest European diesel barge refining margins rose to above $36 a barrel on Friday, supported by lower regional stocks.

Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub declined by 7% in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Gasoil stocks declined to 1.9 million metric tons, the lowest since December 2022, as a result of a sharp drop in imports, said Insights Global’s Lars van Wageningen.

Indian state retailers’ monthly diesel sales dropped in August, while gasoline consumption rose, according to preliminary sales data, as monsoon season dented construction activity and prompted people to use personal vehicles for commuting.

The state refiners sold 5.94 million metric tons of diesel last month, a decline of 3.7% from July, the data showed.

Russia, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, has faced shortages of fuel crucial for gathering the harvest in some parts of its southern breadbasket and the situation may get worse in coming months, market sources told Reuters.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)