Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline refining margins rise

LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - Northwest European gasoline refinery profit margins rose $1.09 on Wednesday to about $16.76 a barrel on lower stocks in the U.S.

• A total of 26,000 metric tons of E5 gasoline barges traded in the Argus window, with BP, Exxon, Shell and Equinor selling to TotalEnergies and MB Energy.

• An additional 6,000 tons of E10 gasoline barges traded in the session, with Exxon selling to Shell and BP.

• U.S. gasoline stocks dropped by 1.6 million barrels in the week ending April 3, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel draw.​ EIA/S

• India's cabinet approved an 84% increase in the project costs of HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd (HRRL) to 794.59 billion rupees ($8.60 billion).

• Ukraine imported record volumes of fuel in March despite market turbulence caused by the Iran War and will maintain the pace of imports in April, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Wednesday, urging traders to lower prices.

• Japanese oil refineries cut utilisation rates to 67.7% of designed capacity in the week to April 4 from 72.5% a week earlier, Petroleum Association of Japan data showed.