Argus Eurobob oxy volumes fall to record low
Argus Eurobob traded volumes reached a combined 174,000t in March, down from 321,800t in February and 311,000t a year earlier. Contributing to the decline was a sharp decline in oxy volumes, which fell to their lowest on record.
Oxy barge trading liquidity totalled just 82,000t in March, down from 218,800t in February and 299,000t a year earlier, and the lowest monthly oxy volume since Argus began assessing Eurobob gasoline in 2010.
The coronavirus pandemic has weighed sharply on European gasoline demand, as widespread travel restrictions are imposed and economic activity grinds to a halt.
Oxy barge volumes for the year to date stand at 734,100t, compared with 807,000t in the same period last year.
Hartree was the largest buyer in March, securing 23,000t of Eurobob oxy barges from 6,000t in February. Total bought 11,000t, down from 32,000t the previous month. No other company bought more than 10,000t. The remaining volumes were purchased by BMV Mineral, BP, ExxonMobil, Gunvor, Mabanaft, Shell, Trafigura and Varo.
Total was the largest seller, parting with 34,000t of oxy barges in March, up from 27,000t in February. And ExxonMobil parted with 11,000t, up from no trades in February. BP, Finco, Glencore, Gunvor, Hartree, Shell, Trafigura, Varo and Macquarie sold the remaining volumes.
Non-oxy trading volumes also fell on the previous month, but outweighed oxy volumes for only the second time since being launched in 2018.
Trading liquidity on Argus Eurobob non-oxy gasoline barges totalled 92,000t in March, from 103,000t in February, but up from 12,000t a year earlier. Non-oxy barge volumes for the year to date stand at 327,000t compared with 81,000t in the same period last year.
Varo was the largest buyer, securing 60,000t of non-oxy gasoline in March, down from 77,000t in February. Hartree bought 18,000t, up from 14,000t In February. Gunvor bought 10,000t. Van Raak bought the remaining 4,000t in March, compared with 2,000t in February.
Total was the largest seller for the fourth consecutive month, parting with 32,000t in March, from 53,000t in February. ExxonMobil sold 30,000t, up from 4,000t a month earlier. The remaining volumes were sold by BP, Philips 66, Shell and Finco.
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