Northwest European diesel barge refining margins rose to about $39 a barrel on Friday, supported by lower imports into the region.

Global diesel shipments for arrival in August are set to reach 4.2 million metric tons, well below the 7.23 million tons delivered in July, latest Refinitiv tracking show.

Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub were steady in the week to Thursday at 2.06 million metric tonnes, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

U.S. distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 296,000 barrels last week to 115.7 million barrels, versus expectations in a Reuters poll for a 500,000-barrel drop, Energy Information Administration data showed.

China’s exports of fuel products more than doubled in July from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, as refiners maintained high run rates and took advantage of strong export margins.

Exports of diesel, the biggest fuel by share of refinery output, totalled 910,000 metric tons, up 153.1% on last year’s 360,000 tons. Total diesel exports for the year so far are up 247.1% on last year.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)