Summer sun set to shine on European refining

The warmer months ahead promise margins upside

A surge in summer driving and flying will be welcome news for European refineries. Oil product margins, especially jet fuel, have borne the brunt of low demand during the pandemic but should see a recovery as vaccines and fewer restrictions bring people out of their homes. More people should be travelling—most likely by road, initially, but also by plane as air corridors re-open—boosting consumption of transport fuels. Europeans also have money to spend, as lockdowns led to ballooning savings. The eurozone’s household savings rate (the share of a household’s income going to savings) reached record highs at the end of 2020, according to statistics body Eurostat. $1.70/bl – OMV’s Q1 Euro