Northwest European gasoline refining margins dropped to $3.30 a barrel on Friday, their lowest in almost a year, following a gain in regional stocks and as exports slowed.

A total of 18,000 metric tons of Eurobob E5 barges traded in the Argus window. Exxon, Trafigura and BP sold to Shell, BP, Exxon and Mabanaft.

No barges of Eurobob E10 traded.

ARA gasoline stocks increased by nearly 4% to 970,000 tons in the week to Thursday as demand softened and exports slowed, Insights Global’s Rick Veringmeier told Reuters.

A Belgian law restricting exports of low-quality fuels and financial constraints among Nigeria’s importers are squeezing sales of gasoline from Northwest Europe to West Africa, leaving buyers to explore other options until Nigeria’s Dangote refinery is able to meet demand.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 1.1 million barrels last week to 221 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 67,000-barrel draw.

EU and UK gasoline exports reached 960,000 barrels per day in September, according to Kpler data, down from 1.17 million bpd in August.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)