September 16, 2015 [OPIS] - Gasoil storage inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) trading hub reached the highest levels seen in nearly three years, Genscape said today.
Levels at just over 6 million metric tons for last week were the most since monitoring began in October 2012, the group said.
Storage in the ARA region climbed in 21 of the past 25 weeks, and gained 2.6 million tons since March this year, the company said in a website post. The rise was in part attributed to a seasonal increase ahead of the winter months.
“Gasoil storage levels could increase over 230,000 tons in the next two weeks with more gasoil moving in on the water,” Genscape said, citing data and shipping analysis. The company uses aerial surveys to measure storage levels at about 650 tanks in the ARA.
About 10% of tanks are using less than 15% of capacity, while just over half are at 85% capacity or above, the weekly survey showed.
That compared to just under 48% at these levels two years ago.
Helping promote storage is the contango structure of the gasoil market, with the October front-month future price today settling $6.75 per ton lower than the December future.
