European Gasoline Rises to 6-Week High on Potential U.S. Demand

Gasoline prices rose to a near six- week high in Europe on speculation falling stockpiles will increase demand for exports.

Gasoline swaps for September loading in Amsterdam- Rotterdam-Antwerp climbed $13.48, or 1.9 percent, to $711.60 a metric ton as of 12:38 p.m. in London, according to the energy broker PVM. That's the highest since July 20.

U.S. gasoline inventories, which shrank by 3.7 million barrels to 192.6 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 24, are likely to last for 20 days, the lowest recorded, the Energy Department said in a weekly report today.

The decline in U.S. supplies may boost exports from Europe because the price difference between the two regions is near a one-year high, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

European suppliers can make a profit of 35 cents a gallon for shipments from northwest Europe to the U.S. east coast, Bloomberg data showed. Yesterday, the spread reached 43 cents, the widest in 13 months.