Northwest European diesel refining margins rose above $28 a barrel on Friday amid thin trading and as parts of the river Rhine in south Germany remained closed for shipping.

No diesel barges traded in the afternoon window.

Parts of the Rhine remained closed to shipping on Friday after heavy rain and melting snow increased water levels, but could reopen later this weekend, navigation authorities said. Rhine river shipping remained stopped around Maxau and Speyer in south Germany, the German inland waterways navigation agency WSA said.

Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose by 1% in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Gasoil inventories were at about 1.79 million metric tons as demand from inland locations slowed and as high water levels on the Rhine slowed down trading activity.

Diesel imports set to arrive into Europe in December so far have reached 3.86 million tons, compared with 4.52 million tons in November, LSEG tracking showed.

Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk will pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice and send them on a detour around Africa, a spokesperson for the company told Reuters on Friday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)