RTRS: Europe Products-Strike prods gasoline prices to 6-wk high
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - European benchmark gasoline barge
prices rose to a six-week high as strikes in Total's French
refineries entered their seventh day, threatening to deplete
already low stocks of the motor fuel.
Output has stopped at all six of Total's French refineries
as workers protested against company plans to shut the Dunkirk
facility. Total plans to sell its UK refinery, industry sources
said. [ID:nLDE61M17R]
Crack spreads for the benchmark jumped $1 to nearly $9 a
barrel.
"The (strike) impact is mainly on gasoline during the summer
to winter spec change and with low stocks," said a trader.
Traders try to sell winter specification product in February and
March ahead of the switch to the summer specification.
Gasoline stocks held in independent tanks in ARA now stand
at around one-third of gas oil stocks at 980,000 tonnes, data
from Dutch oil analyst Pieter Kulsen shows. [ARA/]
Gas oil and diesel barge differentials shrugged off weaker
crude and were steady near Monday's closing levels as the strike
lent support.
GASOLINE AND NAPHTHA * Barges of benchmark Eurobob gasoline traded in a range of
$712-$723 a tonne fob ARA on Tuesday, up from $714 at the
previous close.
* On a crack basis, prices rose $1 to $8.67 a barrel.
* Premium unleaded gasoline prices did not trade. On a crack
basis, they rose to $10.57 a barrel.
* Dealing was lively with 10,000 tonnes changing hands.
Total was a seller and Shell a buyer.
* Brent crude oil LCOc1 rose 30 cents to $78.49 a barrel
by 1229 GMT.
MIDDLE DISTILLATES
* March ICE gas oil retreated from a five-week high of
$643.75 a tonne on Monday to trade down 1.26 percent at $629.25
by 1338 GMT.
* The prompt contango fell 25 cents to $4.75 a tonne at the
same time.
* The prompt crack fell to $7.76 a barrel, down from $8.17
at the previous close.
* Differentials on physical gas oil were steady at a
discount of $3 to ICE futures.
* Diesel barges were also steady at premiums of $14 a tonne
to ICE gas oil futures.
* On the cruve, diesel cargoes moved into a steeper
backwardation as French strikes and heavy refinery maintenance
in Europe threaten to curb output this spring.
* The March swap was priced $1.75 above April compared with
a $1 premium on Monday.
FUEL OIL * High sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) with 3.5 percent sulphur was
not actively discussed.
* Based on the previous closing levels, its crack to dated
Brent rose to minus $4.60 a barrel from minus $5.40 on Monday.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by James Jukwey)
