February 17, 2017 [OPIS] - A weakening contango and easier Rhine barge loading have resulted in lower gasoil and diesel stocks in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area, PJK International says.
Combined gasoil and diesel stocks held in independent storage in the ARA fell by 89,000 tons to 3.081 million tons in the week to Feb. 16, said the Netherlands-based oil stocks consultancy.
The fall was the result of diesel imports from Russia and Baltic nations being outweighed by cargo exports to the U.K. and the Mediterranean, said a spokesman for PJK.
Those cargoes included the 63,000-ton cargo aboard the Marilee, which loaded product at Amsterdam earlier in the week for discharge at the British port of Tranmere.
Rising water levels on the Rhine also encouraged stocks to be drawn down.
“Barges are able to load better for hinterland markets in upper Rhine destinations,” said the PJK spokesman. “The contango structure is generally weakening,” he added, referring to a flattening of the forward price curve.
Jet stocks rose by 107,000 tons over the previous week to 778,000 tons, said PJK, citing the effect of imports from the United Arab Emirates.
