Northwest European gasoline refining margins slipped on Thursday to $12.12 a barrel as no cargoes traded hands and products stocks dropped in Northwest Europe.

No Eurobob E5 or Eurobob E10 traded on Thursday, while seven barges of premium unleaded sold, with Musket and Shell selling to TotalEnergies.

Refined oil products stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell by nearly 4% in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Gasoline exports out of ARA storage picked up on the week, according to Insights Global’s Lars van Wageningen, with rising shipments to the Americas recorded, in addition to flows for rarer destinations South Africa and Australia.

Demand for gasoline and gasoil in inland markets up the river Rhine firmed on the week after high water levels had hampered navigation earlier in the month.

Naphtha stocks fell by nearly 23% to 375,000 tonnes, as more product was moved into gasoline blending tanks, or left ARA storage for delivery to petrochemical firms, van Wageningen added.

The La Nina weather phenomenon is likely to develop during July-September, according to U.S. forecaster CPC.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Noah Browning; Editing by Susan Fenton)