Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline cracks rise despite US stock build

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Northwest European gasoline refining margins rose slightly on Wednesday to about $22.50 a barrel in another day of light trading as crude prices weakened further and despite a surprise rise in U.S. stocks.

• 6,000 metric tons of summer Eurobob E5 were traded while no E10 barges changed hands.
• U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories rose unexpectedly last week, driven by higher crude imports and sluggish gasoline demand, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
• U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 1.3 million barrels in the week to 232.1 million barrels, the EIA said, as gasoline demand fell by about 94,000 barrels per day.
• "Despite market chatter of significantly decreased European supply in the coming weeks and months thanks to turnarounds at European refineries, much of this is well priced in already," analysts at Sparta Commodities said.
• "The impact on gasoline supply is likely to be at least partly mitigated by a softening of the distillates complex, with gasoline cracks now decidedly higher than diesel through April," they added.
• Nigeria's giant Dangote oil refinery could bring to an end a decades-long gasoline trade from Europe to Africa worth $17 billion a year, heaping pressure on European refineries already at risk of closure from heightened competition, analysts and traders said.
• European gasoline exports were set to reach about 980,000 barrels per day in March, according to Kpler data, down from 1.19 million bpd in February.
• Russia's oil refining capacity that was shut down by drone attacks has reached 14% of total, Reuters calculations showed on Tuesday.

            Trade   Bid      Offer    Prev.    Buyer    Seller 
 Ebob               $907                                 

Barges MOC Platts E5 (fob ARA) Ebob Barges E10 Platts(fo b ARA)

 Ebob       $909.2                    $909     Glencor  Litasco 
 Barges     5-$911                             e,       , BP, 
 Argus      .50                                Totsa    Varo 
 E5(fob     (6KT)                                        

AR) Ebob $897.75 Barges (4KT E10 Argus winter; (fob AR) 10KT

                                      summer)            
                                                         
 Apr. swap  $898.2                    $907.50            

(fob ARA) 5

 Premium    $909-$                             Shell    BP 
 Unleaded   918                                          

(fob ARA) Cargoes April (fob MED) +$4,

• 5 Cargoes (cif NWE) Naphtha April April April (cif NWE) +$15 +$15 +$17

Ebob crack (per barrel) $22.50 Prev. $21.856 Brent futures LCOc1 Rbob RBc1 Rbob crack RBc1-CLc1