Northwest European diesel barge refining margins extended losses on Thursday, falling to about $25 a barrel as Russia was preparing to fully lift an fuel export ban and as imports into the region were set to rise.

Glencore was the only barge seller with buyers including Mabanaft, Litasco, Trafigura and Shell.

Russian fuel producers have been told by the government to prepare for the scrapping of all remaining restrictions on the export of diesel and gasoline, three industry sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub fell by 2.7% in the week to Thursday to 1.72 million metric tons – their lowest since December 2022, Insights Global data showed.

Global supplies of diesel were expected to rise in the coming months as plants in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific return from maintenance, traders said.

Diesel flows into Europe in October tumbled to their lowest since May 2022 on the back of weaker industrial demand and many refineries in key supply locations such as India, the Middle East and U.S. closing units for maintenance, LSEG analyst Raj Rajendran said.

Global imports into the region fell in October to 4.64 million tons.

Imports are, however, expected to rise in November, reaching 3.36 million tons so far, according to shipping data, Rajendran said. Middle East volumes in November already exceed arrivals made in October at 1.72 million tons.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)