German traders from the south, southeast and west of the country increased heating oil purchases from the Miro consortium's 310,000 b/d Karlsruhe refinery in order to capture lower prices stemming from the current oversupply at the facility.
Increased supply at Miro's Karlsruhe refinery is a result of weaker buying interest in Southwestern Germany because of warmer weather and higher refinery runs in recent weeks. Germany's southwest is the cheapest region nationwide for heating oil and several traders from neighbouring regions have told Argus that they have sourced product in Karlsruhe, depending on logistics capacities.
Rising diesel and gasoline prices resulting from supply disruptions in the Mideast Gulf have weighed on demand for the fuels in Germany and suppliers such as PCK's 204,000 b/d Schwedt refinery have started to cut prices. Lower exports to Poland after state measures reduced domestic road fuel prices there have also contributed to prop up supply in East Germany.
Middle distillate prices in northern Germany remain higher than in the Southwest, with premiums against PCK supplies in April reaching its highest since 2022. Market participants attributed this mainly to the region's import dependence, as Hamburg relies heavily on seaborne imports.
The nearby 103,000 b/d Holborn and 84,000 b/d Heide refineries make limited contributions to domestic supply because most of their products are exported.
In the German gasoline market, traders in the south reported temporarily limited availability at the 207,000 b/d Bayernoil refinery because of production issues. But supply improved by the end of the week, and traders expect spot availability to normalise in the coming days.
