Northwest European gasoline refining margins ended the week lower at around $28 a barrel as exports from the region slowed and inventories were little changed.

Gasoline stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub were little changed in the week to Thursday at 1.33 million metric tons as exports slowed, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

U.S. gasoline stocks fell last week by 0.2 million barrels to 217.4 million barrels, EIA data showed, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.9 million-barrel drop.

Gasoline exports from Europe to North America and West Africa are set to reach 1.48 million metric tons in August, down from 1.8 million tons the previous month, Refinitiv analyst Raj Rajendran said in a note.

Exports to the United States declined in August to an estimated 709,000 tons from 973,000 tons in July as peak driving season subsided, Rajendran said.

Exports to West Africa dropped to 775,000 tons from 823,000 tons in July. Overall consumption in Nigeria has shrunk about 27% since the end of May, when the government cut fuel subsidies, he said.

China has issued 15 million metric tons of oil products export quotas to companies in its third batch for 2023, according to three trading sources and two domestic consultancies.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Louise Heavens)