Northwest European gasoline refining margins rose to more than $7 a barrel on Friday, as buying remained subdued, and as loading delays in the region persisted.

Totsa sold the only two barges that traded on E5 barges.

No E10 barges changed hands.

Brokers Riverlake said barge loading delays in the ARA hub were still ongoing and that a technical fault earlier this week prevented loadings at Antwerp for a day adding to waiting times.

Gasoline exports from northwest Europe to the United States and West Africa are set to reach 986,000 metric tons so far this month, compared with 1.27 million tons in September LSEG tracking shows.

Gasoline stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub were broadly stable in the week to Thursday, according to Insights Global data. ARA/

The Eurobob forward market remains in backwardation for the fourth quarter, because of weak blending margins capping production and more attractive export economics out of Europe, Sparta Commodities analyst Philip Jones-Lux said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar. Editing by Jane Merriman)