Gasoline and naphtha prices saw a marginal rise in northwest Europe in thin trade, with gasoline stocks falling in the US and the Dortmund-Ems canal in Germany remained closed for a second day following an accident at the BP Emsland refinery, as per Reuters. US gasoline inventories slipped more-than-expected 2.68 mln barrels to 217.04 mln barrels according to weekly data from the Energy Information Administration, mainly due to higher exports as domestic demand remains pressured by higher prices at the pump. A gasoline barge exploded while loading from the BP refinery, spilling gasoline into the canal, which was closed as a precaution. For the last two months the market has been plagued by lacklustre demand so naphtha has been going into the gasoline blending pools in Europe and New York. There are signs that this U.S. demand is drying up, however. Demand from the Far East had not improved. Cargoes leaving from Morocco and Greece for the East had been pre-booked. Naphtha prices rose in thin volume, with one barge trading during the window at US$999/ton cif NWE, up from US$988/ton cif NWE.
01-Apr-11 
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