China Snaps Up 250MB in Euro Gasoline Stocks

China has bought around 250,000 tonnes of gasoline and blending components from Europe in recent days as the world's top energy consumer mops up oil products, traders said on Tuesday.

China's plan to levy a hefty consumption tax from January on blending components for gasoline is believed to be the main driver for the recent buying drive as it creates a gap in supply there.

The move comes in tandem with a massive and rare buying spree by Chinese state-run oil firms of 335,000 tonnes of naphtha and diesel for delivery in November into China.

At least seven tankers of around 40,000 tonnes have been booked in recent days to ship gasoline, aromatics and reformates, used for blending into gasoline, into China in November, according to Reuters shipping data and trading sources.

Unipec, the trading arm of top Chinese oil firm Sinopec , PetroChina and other smaller traders have done most of the recent gasoline buying in Europe, traders said.

The strong demand from the East has offered support to European gasoline refining margins, which rose on Tuesday to around $9.5 a barrel, up $2 from a day earlier.

"Octane is very expensive in Europe mostly because it is being pulled East," one trader said.

The Chinese buying is putting further pressure on supplies which have been limited in recent months due to planned refinery maintenance in Europe and the North American East Coast as well as unplanned outages.

Reporting by Ron Bousso