Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline gains on Atlantic basin stocks draws

Reuters - UK Focus

LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Gasoline refining margins in northwest Europe rose above $9 a barrel on Thursday after a stock draw in ARA and as falling stocks on the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . East Coast prompted several export cargo bookings.

* Gasoline stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub fell nearly 10 percent in the week to Thursday due to larger exports, Dutch consultancy PJK International said.

* Following a large draw in U.S. East Coast gasoline inventories last week, several tankers have been booked over the past day on the transatlantic route from Europe.

* With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) gasoline prices switching in recent days into backwardation until November, traders have been releasing volumes from storage and opting to export them to the U.S. East Coast, Latin America and Canada, traders said.

* S&P Global Platts, a provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets, has signed an agreement to acquire global energy market analysis firm PIRA Energy Group, it said in a statement Thursday.

GASOLINE

* No barges traded in the afternoon window. Bids came in at $419 to $431 a tonne fob ARA but there were no offers.

* Another 15,000 tonnes traded throughout the day at $423-$430 a tonne fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam, compared with trades at $413-$422 a tonne on Wednesday. Gunvor, Koch, Statoil (LSE: 0M2Z.L - news) and Vitol sold to Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) , Rolympus, OELPool, BP and Varo.

* Six barges of premium unleaded gasoline traded at $437-$439 a tonne fob ARA, compared with trades at $436 a tonne. Rolympus and Litasco sold to Total (LSE: 524773.L - news) .

* Gasoline barge refining margins rose to $9.2 a barrel from $8.6 a barrel.

* The September swap stood at around $427.15 a tonne at the close, up from $425.25 a tonne.

* Brent crude oil futures rose 47 cents to $43.57 a barrel by 1550 GMT.

* U.S. August RBOB gasoline futures were down 0.14 percent at 1.3479 a gallon.

* The U.S. gasoline crack (RB-CL1=R) was trading at $15.08 a barrel, down from $15.88 a barrel on Tuesday.

NAPHTHA (NAF-C-NWE)

* No naphtha cargoes traded. (Reporting by Ron Bousso, editing by Libby George)