Northwest European gasoline refining margins rose on Thursday after stocks in northwest Europe and the United States posted large declines. Gasoline stocks in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell in the week to Thursday by over 9 percent, their third straight weekly decline, data from Dutch consultancy PJK International showed.

Gasoline exports rose over the past week, with tankers heading to North America, West Africa and Asia.

Shipping reports show nearly 300,000 tonnes of gasoline have been booked in recent days to load in Europe for transatlantic journeys.

US gasoline stocks fell last week by 1.5 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 350,000-barrel drop, EIA data showed.

Saudi Aramco plans to shut the Yanbu oil refinery in Saudi Arabia for planned maintenance for one month from early March, several trading sources said on Wednesday.

Venezuela is paying heavy premiums for fuel imports from Russia and Europe, with fewer than a dozen sellers seeing the risk as worth the reward after flows from the United States dried up because of sanctions, trading sources said and data showed.

Copyright Reuters, 2019