Cheap gasoline from an oversupply along the Gulf Coast of the United States of America (USA) has reopened distant markets, including those in Australia and Mozambique, Reuters reported on Wednesday, January 10. The agency explains that demand for gasoline in the US fell to the lowest level of the year at the end of December. Stocks at PADD 3 (Petroleum Administration for the Defense Districts), along the Gulf Coast, rose 9.5% year-on-year at the end of last month, as refineries increased production after maintenance outages in the autumn. According to the agency, a cargo of gasoline from the US headed for Australia on Wednesday (10), and is due to be unloaded in Mozambique in the coming days.
The STI Madison, chartered by Atlantic Trading & Marketing from TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), loaded around 700,000 barrels of gasoline from Marathon Petroleum’s (MPC.N) Garyville, Louisiana refinery on December 15 and is due to unload in Sydney towards the end of this month, according to LSEG ship tracking.
Shipments of gasoline from the US to Australia are unlikely to increase, as the price difference between East and West will probably decrease, according to traders.Reuters reveals that the STI Madison shipment marks the first US gasoline cargo to Australia in almost three years, and the first from the US Gulf Coast in more than four years.Australia mostly imports gasoline from South Korea, Singapore and other Asian countries. Restrictions on shipping through the Panama Canal have led Gulf Coast refineries to reduce export prices, making US gasoline more competitive. The ship STI Mighty transported around 170,000 barrels of gasoline from Houston to Beira, Mozambique, and was expected to unload this week. This was the first shipment of gasoline to Mozambique in four years. “Gasoline from the US Gulf Coast is very cheap at the moment,” said a Singapore-based gasoline trader.
