Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline margins edge higher

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Northwest European gasoline refining profit margins edged up, while gasoline barge swap trading reflected expectations of higher prices in the coming months.

• About 2,000 metric tons of Eurobob E5 barges traded, which BP sold to Vitol.

• A further 6,000 metric tons of E10 traded. Shell sold barges to Varo.

• In the Platts window, BP and Vitol sought Mediterranean gasoline cargoes, while Trafigura offered one. No trades were agreed.

• Northwest European gasoline swaps remained in a contango structure, which typically incentivise storage on expectations of higher prices in the coming months.

• EU-27 and UK gasoline exports reached 916,000 barrels per day in December, Kpler data showed, down from 1.2 million bpd in November.

• EU-27 and UK gasoline exports to the U.S. dropped to 98,000 bpd in December, from 198,000 bpd in November, according to Kpler.

(Reporting by Enes Tunagur; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

((Enes.Tunagur@thomsonreuters.com;))