Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline refining profit margins soften

LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Northwest European gasoline refinery profit margins fell by about 28 cents to $11.28 a barrel on Tuesday as weaker export activity weighed.

• About 18,000 metric tons of Eurobob E5 gasoline traded on barges as ExxonMobil, Trafigura, Glencore and Equinor sold to BP, MB Energy and Aramco Trading.

• Another 10,000 tons of gasoline barges traded in the session as Varo bought from TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil

• Rhine water levels continue to fall with no rain expected, cutting barge intake at Kaub to about 1,750 tons and sharply limiting upriver capacity, broker Riverlake said in a note.

• Meanwhile, EU-27 and UK gasoline exports to other regions have averaged 455,000 barrels per day so far this month, about half of which are destined for West Africa. Exports to the US East Coast have only reached 22,000 bpd so far, compared with an average of 94,000 bpd in November.