Northwest European diesel barge refining margins rose but about $1 to $38.60 a barrel on Friday in thin trading activity, as the market continued to weigh the potential impact of Russia’s partial ban on exports.

* Ultra low-sulphur diesel (ULSD) loadings from the Russian Baltic Sea port of Primorsk are set to fall in October by 80% month on month on a daily basis to 210,000 metric tons from 1.08 million metric tons scheduled for September, two traders said on Friday.

* Last week, Russia temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to cope with a domestic market shortage, but made some exemptions, including for transit cargoes.

* After the ban, Russian pipeline operator Transneft stopped export shipments of diesel fuel from Primorsk and the Black Sea’s Novorossiysk port from Sept. 22.

* And while Europe has broadly stopped all Russian diesel imports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the ban is still expected to have an impact on the local market.

* “And while core Europe (EU 27+UK) have largely filled the diesel shortage by East of Suez suppliers, there could be more competition coming for those barrels if the Russian diesel export ban is prolonged,” Vortexa analyst Pamela Munger said.

* Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub increased by about 4% in the week to Thursday as imports continued to rise, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

* Gasoil stocks stood at nearly 2 million metric tons as imports came from India and the Mideast Gulf. Lower inland demand also led to an uptick in stocks, Insights Global’s Lars van Wageningen said.

* Diesel arrivals so far in September are set to jump to 6.24 million metric tons, LSEG tracking showed, “but logistical delays could lead to slippages into October,” LSEG analyst Raj Rajendran said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Alexander Smith and Shounak Dasgupta)