Northwest European diesel barge refining margins declined slightly to $20.27 a barrel on Friday in thin trading.

No diesel barges traded in the afternoon window for a second day in a row.

Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell by 2.3% to 2.21 million tons in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Demand up the Rhine river increased as buyers sought to replenish stocks after high water levels had hampered navigation during the previous week, according to Insights Global’s Lars van Wageningen.

Gasoil imports remained strong but were offset by exports to Argentina and Northwest European countries, van Wageningen said.

U.S. distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose last week by 0.9 million barrels to 123.4 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.6-million-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.

EU and UK diesel imports are on track to reach 768,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June, down from 1.22 million bpd in May, Kpler data showed.

BP’s 450,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery plans to conduct a major turnaround in the coming months, an industry source said on Thursday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by David Evans)