Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline refining profits rise

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Northwest European gasoline refinery profit margins rose by $1 to $8.82 a barrel on Tuesday in brisk trading.

• About 18,000 metric tons of Eurobob E5 gasoline traded on barges in the Argus window as Equinor, Trafigura and Glencore sold to BP, Aramco, MB Energy and TotalEnergies.

• Varo sold an E5 barge to Trafigura in the Platts window.

• Another 8,000 tons of Eurobob E10 gasoline barges traded in the session, with Shell and Gunvor selling to Varo and Petroineos.

• India's fuel consumption hit 21.75 million tons in December, up 5.3% year on year and the highest monthly number recorded in oil ministry data going back to April 1998.

• Data released by the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) on Tuesday showed sales of gasoline stood at 3.56 million tons in December, up 1.1% from November and 7.1% from a year earlier.

• Nigeria's 650,000 barrel per day Dangote refinery has dismissed reports of a shutdown, saying production remained stable and uninterrupted despite ongoing maintenance.

• Africa's largest oil refinery said late on Monday that it continued to supply 40 million to 50 million litres of gasoline daily through January and February, subject to demand.