Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline margins jump on lower stocks

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Northwest European gasoline refining profit margins rose sharply by $3 a barrel on Thursday to $7.23 a barrel, supported by lower regional inventories.

• Four barges of E5 gasoline barges traded, as Trafigura and Sahara sold to TotalEnergies and Varo.

• A further 3,000 metric tons of Eurobob E10 traded, as Trafigura sold to Varo.

• Refined products stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell by around 3% on the week to 6.27 million metric tons on Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

• Gasoline stocks fell by around 8.5% to 1.51 million tons, Insight Global data showed.

• The drop came as gasoline exports out of ARA storage picked up on the week, to Transatlantic and Middle East destinations in particular according to Insights Global's Lars van Wageningen.

• Slower gasoline blending demand, and steady imports, helped naphtha stocks rise by over 10% on the week to 433,000 tons, van Wageningen added.

• Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery will shut its 204,000 barrels per day gasoline-making unit for 30-day maintenance tentatively expected to start on June 1, according to industry monitor IIR.