LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Diesel barge differentials innorthwest Europe rose on Thursday amid very thin trade asongoing disruptions at BP's Rotterdam refinery and a nearingstorm limited demand.
Diesel barge loading continued to be disrupted at BP's <BP.L400,000 barrels per day (bpd) Rotterdam refinery, with tradersexpecting 2 to 3 days of delays.
Hurricane-force winds that have battered northern Europehave had no impact on tanker movement in the ARA ports,according to port officials, but traders feared disruptions inthe coming days.
"Ship pilot services might be suspended later when the windreally is at full force," one trader said.
The storm is expected to peak at 0500 and 1700 on Friday,but for the time being, no special precautionary measures havebeen taken but the "normal protocols for stormy weather" will beapplied, Antwerp port spokeswoman Tine Vandendriessche said.
Gasoil stocks independently held at Europe'sAmsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub slipped 0.9 percent last week to1.673 million tonnes, a fresh five-year low, data from Dutch oilconsultant Pieter Kulsen showed.
Stocks of gasoil, which is used for heating, were at theirlowest level since Nov. 20, 2008, the data showed.
"Heating demand along the Rhine, despite slightly coolerweather, is still slack," Kulsen said.
"We are ending the year so a number of players, for fiscalreasons, try to reduce stocks to the end of the year...Importers don't have any real incentives to replenish stocks."
Forecasts for a mild winter and subsequent lower consumptionof heating oil in Europe is likely to bring more bad news forthe region's refineries, which have seen profits crushed inrecent months by waves of product imports.
GASOIL
* No barges of 0.1 percent gasoil traded.
* No gasoil cargoes trades in northwest Europe or theMediterranean.
* No barges of 50 ppm gasoil traded.
* By 1723 GMT December ICE gasoil futures were down$6.25 a tonne at $941.00 a tonne.
* The ICE gasoil crack was at $15.27 a barrel,up from $14.82 a barrel on Wednesday.
* December and January ICE gasoil futures were in a contango of $1.25 a tonne, unchanged.
DIESEL
* One diesel barge traded at $14 a tonne fob ARA aboveDecember gasoil futures, up from $11-$13 a tonne on Wednesday.Vitol sold to TPR.
* Litasco sold to Mercuria one cargo of French spec dieselat $23 a tonne cif Le Havre above the January gasoil futures.
* No cargoes traded in the Mediterranean. There were nooffers while ENI, Total and ERG bid for four cargoes.
JET FUEL
* BP sold to Shell two jet fuel barges on a formula pricingbasis.
* No cargoes traded. There were no offers while Trafiguraand BP bid for one cargo cif Le Havre each.
FUEL OIL
* Barges of low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) with 1 percentsulphur content were bid at $619 a tonne fob ARA.
* Barges of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) with 3.5 percentsulphur content traded at $578.25-$579.25 a tonne fob ARA, downfrom 583-$584 a tonne.