Europe Gasoline-Prices drop below $700 on crude, RBOB sell-off

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - European gasoline prices fell
sharply on Thursday, tracking a 2 percent drop in crude and U.S.
gasoline futures which has threatened to curtail exports of the
motor fuel across the Atlantic.

Rising stocks of gasoline in Europe also weighed on the
price, with insipid demand overriding attempts by refiners to
cut back production and drain supplies. [ARA/]

"The arb keeps getting hit which means prices here need to
fall to try and keep some exports moving," one trader said.
"There's been a lot more selling today with people exiting the
market after the exports they were hoping to make suddenly
didn't look so profitable."

PRICES

* Gasoline prices at the close fell to trade at $693-$699 a
tonne fob ARA from three-week highs of $717-$720 on Wednesday.

* Dealing was relatively brisk with 13,000 tonnes changing
hands.

* The Eurograde's crack to dated Brent BFO- fell by 50
cents to $6.50 a barrel.

* Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading down $1.62 at
$77.85 a barrel.

* RBOB gasoline RBc1 was trading down 2 percent at just
above $1.97 a gallon.

EUROPEAN INVENTORIES

* Gasoline inventories in independent storage at the
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub rose by more than 50,000 tonnes
last week to 784,000 tonnes, Dutch oil analyst Pieter Kulsen
said on Thursday. [ARA/]

SWAPS

* Gasoline swaps fell across the curve, with the front end
dipping below physical prices. The balance of November was at
$692 a tonne, with December at $689.

* From January, the market is in contango, with that swap at
$696.50 a tonne. March is at $711.50, while April leaps to
$739.25 a tonne.

* Traders looking to export to the United States in December
would currently make a small profit, with the December arbitrage
swap at $2.20 a tonn, down 10 cents since Wednesday.

NAPHTHA

* Naphtha spot prices for November were discussed at around
$685 a tonne cif NWE.

* Swaps were in backwardation through to February,
reflecting tightness in the spot market.

* Naphtha stocks stored in independent tanks in ARA fell to
34,000 tonnes in the week ending Thursday which was less than a
third of stock levels this time last year. [ARA/]

* The December naphtha crack has firmed from more than minus
$3 a barrel to just minus $1.90 on Thursday.
(Reporting by David Sheppard and Emma Farge; editing by James
Jukwey)