Northwest European diesel profit margins softened by around 50 cents to $17 a barrel on Wednesday after data showed a much larger than expected build in U.S. inventories.

U.S. distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose last week by 3.4 million barrels 118.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 900,000-barrel rise, EIA data showed.

Shell completed a two-month long maintenance shutdown at its 400,000 barrel per day Pernis oil refinery in Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Wednesday and is currently restarting units at the plant, the company saidon X.

Russia’s exports of ultra low-sulphur diesel (ULSD) from the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk are set to rise by 23.2% in December to 1.4 million metric tons from 1.1 million scheduled for November, two traders said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, EU and UK diesel and gasoil imports are forecast to reach about 833,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December, according to Kpler, compared with 1.03 million bpd last month.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)