Category: ARA stocks

Independently-held product stocks at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub gained in the week to 23 November.

A hike in gasoil stocks drove the increase, with diesel volumes reaching the largest volume of the product at ARA since early October before French strikes reduced inventories.

Stocks probably rose as countries look to stock up ahead of winter, and easing backwardation in the gasoil futures contract has made stockpiling more attractive than last month — backwardation had reached.

Russian supply continues to flow into ARA, with traders seeking to make profit on discounted Russian diesel with the 5 February sanctions deadline looming.

Gasoline stocks shed on the week. Cargoes departed ARA for Brazil, Latvia, west Africa and the US, despite the transatlantic arbitrage appearing closed on paper. US gasoline stocks rose in the week to 18 November according to fresh data from the EIA. Cargoes carrying gasoline supplied ARA from northwest Europe, the Mediterranean and Georgia.

Inventories of naphtha decreased for the first time since 3 November, losing.

Naphtha demand received a boost from the petrochemical sector, with an uptake in cargoes up the Rhine.

Jet supplies also rose on the week. A drop in seasonal demand probably allowed for a build in stocks, with outgoing cargoes destined only for the UK but incoming volumes arriving from China, Japan and South Korea.

Reporter:Georgina McCartney

A jump in independently-held gasoline inventories at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub drove overall oil product stocks up in the week to 16 November.

Gasoline inventories increased, drawing support from oversupply and lacklustre US demand with the economics firmly closed for transatlantic shipments.

Cargoes departed ARA for west Africa, the Mediterranean region and Puerto Rico and arrived from France, Italy and Latvia.

The US EIA said there was a rise in gasoline stocks in the week to 11 November, and implied US demand faltered.

Gasoil stocks at ARA dropped in the week. Inventories are probably being cut as the French market looks to replenish following several weeks of industrial action at five out of six of the country’s refineries.

Cargoes bound for the Mediterranean region, the UK and the US departed ARA in the week.

Inventories of naphtha rose for a third consecutive week to the highest since 21 September. Stocks increased. Naphtha continues to face pressure from weak demand from the petrochemical sector, and weakening blending demand into the gasoline pool.

No cargoes carrying naphtha departed the ARA hub, while shipments arrived from Algeria, Italy, Norway and Russia.

Fuel oil stocks declined in the week to 16 November. Fuel oil demand is strong from the bunkering sector, with cargoes leaving ARA for west Africa and the Mediterranean region.

Reporter:Georgina McCartney

Independently-held oil product inventories at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub dropped by around 1pc in the week to 9 November, according to consultancy Insights Global.

The decline was driven by a fall in fuel oil stocks, with fuel oil cargoes departing the hub for the UK, Germany and France.

This was partially offset by a rise in naphtha inventories, underpinned by continued lacklustre demand from the petrochemical sector and subsequent minimal interest in moving product up the Rhine into Germany.

No naphtha cargoes departed ARA over the past week, but deliveries arrived from Russia, Norway, Portugal and Algeria.

Gasoline stocks ticked up on the week amid a closed arbitrage for transatlantic shipments, while firm demand pushed jet fuel inventories down on the week to settle.

The drop in jet fuel stocks was more to do with robust demand than refiners opting to blend jet in the diesel pool, according to Insights Global.

Reporter: Georgina McCartney

Independently-held oil product inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area increased in the week to 2 November, driven by an increase in fuel oil stocks.

Fuel oil inventories increased by almost a fifth. Fuel oil demand has been weak in Europe, with very low-sulphur fuel oil pricing at a discount to Brent for the first time since June 2020, last week.

A suezmax carrying an undisclosed volume of fuel oil was due to depart ARA today. In the week to 2 November, cargoes carrying fuel oil arrived at ARA from Bahrain, Germany. Poland and Saudi Arabia.

Gasoil stocks were down on the week. Less Russian-origin gasoil is making its way into ARA, and higher imports from the Arab Gulf have worked to fill the gap left by Russian sources, although stocks remain lower on the week.

Diesel demand remains strong, with firm backwardation weighing on any incentive to store the road fuel, with refiners opting to sell now. Gasoil cargoes have departed the ARA region for Germany, Norway and the UK.

Gasoline stocks also fell in the week to 2 November. But gasoline stocks could start to recover, with French refinery capacity coming back online after several weeks of industrial action, which left French refining capacity offline.

Naphtha inventories also dropped on the week, with the product being directed into the gasoline blending pool. Demand from the petrochemical sector continues to be weaker, with natural gas prices disincentivising manufacturers from ramping up production.

Reporter: Georgina McCartney

Independently-held oil product inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area faltered in the week to 26 October.

Naphtha stocks dropped most notably, according to the latest data from consultancy Insights Global. Japanese demand has depleted European supplies, with more than half the decline in stocks probably resulting from one Mizushima-bound shipment.

Nord Supreme departed Antwerp on 23 October, carrying naphtha and due to unload in Japan on 1 December, according to data from Vortexa.

Jet fuel stocks also dropped. With firm gasoil cracks, jet fuel is probably being blended into the diesel pool. Diesel cargoes of restricted origin — excluding Russian sources — averaged against North Sea Dated crude in the week to 26 October, incentivising refiners to focus on diesel output. Demand for jet fuel in aviation has also pressured ARA stocks.

Fuel oil stocks dropped on the week, with cargoes departing ARA for Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland, Ireland and the Caribbean. Departures have outpaced arrivals, with inventories falling by.

Gasoline stocks actually increased. Inventories of the road fuel probably rose with the conclusion of some refinery strikes in France, which in turn is working to ease tightness in the spot market for finished oil products.

Reporter: Georgina McCartney

Independently-held refined oil product inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area dropped.

The latest data from consultancy Insights Global show the biggest loss was in gasoline. This was probably a response to the series of refinery closures in France caused by strikes, as supplies head to that country in attempt to fill the big supply gap.

Exports to the US increased, where there are concerns of low stock levels for road fuels. Diesel stocks dropped on the week for the same reason.

Naphtha stocks built up again on the week, as demand from the petrochemical sector remains low because running petrochemical facilities is currently very expensive as natural gas prices remain high.

Demand in Asia may have started to increase though, as shipments from the Mediterranean region to ARA have fallen, which suggests some supply is going to Asia.

Fuel oil stocks dropped on the week, with cargoes departing for Italy and west Africa. It was also suggested that there is more demand in Singapore, with arbitrage economics supportive of that route from Europe.

Jet fuel stocks in ARA went up on the week, with cargoes arriving from South Korea and the Mideast Gulf, as demand in Europe begins to fall with the start of the winter months.

Reporter: Bea O’Kelly

Independently-held oil products inventories in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) held steady on the week, according to consultancy Insights Global, as a drop in fuel oil and gasoline stocks was balanced out by rising gasoil, naphtha and jet storage.

Fuel oil stocks fell to their lowest since June, marking a week-on-week drop. Unworkable export economics to Asia-Pacific bunkering hub Singapore could have weighed on demand for taking out storage in ARA for assembling large cargoes for long-haul exports.

Fuel oil stocks also fell on the back of a slowdown in imports from Russia. No imports of Russian fuel oil into ARA have been spotted since late-July, as EU sanctions on coal from 10 August include customs codes which fuel oil is be exported under if the aromatics content is higher.

Gasoline stocks also dropped lower on the week. Improved economics for long-haul exports out of Europe could have contributed to the drop in stocks, while autumn maintenance at European refineries could also be providing a ceiling to output.

More gasoline was reported to be heading up the river Rhine into France.

Naphtha stocks meanwhile rose on the week, amid an increase in demand for the product as a gasoline blending component. Demand from the other major outlet — the petrochemical sector — has slowed because extreme natural gas prices have prompted run cuts at petrochemical facilities.

Gasoil stocks rose on the week, driven higher by firm imports into northwest Europe, which is structurally short of diesel. Product continued to arrive from Russia, as well as ports in the Mideast Gulf and Asia-Pacific as buyers begin to source alternative supplies ahead of EU sanctions deadlines on Russian oil imports in February.

Jet fuel stocks also rose because of higher import. With seasonal demand from the aviation sector slowing, jet imports could be blended into the diesel pool, particularly given extremely-high crack spreads for the latter product.

Reporter: Robert Harvey

Independently held refined product inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area rose to three-week highs in the week to 14 September, led by a rise in naphtha stocks.

Data from consultancy Insights Global showed that naphtha stocks rose to four-week highs on 14 September, with a lack of demand for naphtha as a gasoline blending component. Several naphtha cargoes arrived in ARA in the week, and there was little demand from the petrochemical sector.

The high cost of the natural gas used to power petrochemical units may also be quashing feedstock demand from the sector.

Gasoline inventories fell on the week, and exports of the product to west Africa were more robust. Traders have struggled to find suitable ships to send gasoline to the US, and there is a general caution among market players which has meant trading activity in that market has quietened down in recent days.

Air travel demand in Europe has started to ease seasonally, while import levels remain high. Jet fuel stocks rose on the week, and cargoes arrived from South Korea and the Mideast Gulf. It is also likely that jet fuel is now being stored as a blending component for winter grade diesel.

Gasoil stocks also rose, as cargoes continued to arrive from Russia. Supply concerns have not translated to reality yet as EU sanctions on Russian product do not come into force until February 2023.

Reporter: Bea Kelly

Independently held refined product inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area fell to four-week lows in the week to 7 September, led by a near decline of naphtha stocks.

Data from consultancy Insights Global showed that naphtha stocks fell on 7 September, amid firmer demand for naphtha as a gasoline blending component.

Several naphtha cargoes arrived in ARA in the week to 7 September, some from Algeria, Bulgaria and France, but not enough to prevent the overall fall in inventories.

Gasoline inventories rose on the week, although exports of the product to key export markets the US and west Africa were more robust this week.

Air travel demand in Europe has started to ease seasonally, with airlines Finnair and Norwegian Air reporting lower passenger numbers on the month in August.

Jet fuel stocks in ARA started to build in the week to 7 September, with import volumes remaining at high levels. Jet fuel stocks rose on the week, and cargoes arrived from the Mediterranean.

Reporter: Thomas Warner

Independently-held refined product inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area fell during the week to 31 August, after reaching 13-month highs a week earlier.

The latest data from consultancy Insights Global showed that stocks of all surveyed products fell on the week, with the exception of gasoil inventories which rose. The slump brought overall stocks back to the level recorded a fortnight earlier, prior to the big jump recorded during the intervening week.

Inventory levels were steady throughout most of the summer, but the end of the peak summer demand season now appears to be changing the prevailing dynamic.

The fall in gasoline inventories resulted from a rise in outflows to the US, which had fallen to zero during the previous week. Europe is a key supplier of gasoline to the US Atlantic coast, and the end of the peak summer period means that flows of winter-grade material are likely to be getting underway.

Barge congestion in the ARA market remains a factor, particularly as blenders work to produce the new winter-grade export cargoes.

Gasoil inventories were virtually unchanged on the week, despite an increase in barge flows up the river Rhine. Loading restrictions on the river eased during late August owing to a slight increase in water levels that is expected by market participants to be short-lived.

Reporter: Thomas Warner