Exports of distillates from the US Gulf Coast to Europe so far look set to be 1 million mt for October, data from S&P Global Platts trade flow software showed Tuesday.
Inbound clean products are set to arrive in European ports in 23 cargoes.
Just four of these, comprising 180,000 mt, are heading to Mediterranean destinations, the data showed.
The running total so far for October is in line with September when US exports fell 700,000 mt on the month to 1.03 million mt.
Closed arbitrage economics continue to limit cross-Atlantic distillate flows, and bullish US fundamentals have prolonged the dearth of diesel volumes heading to Europe.
The impact of the autumn maintenance season on US Gulf Coast refineries was reflected in Energy Information Administration data released last week showing utilization rates at their lowest in nearly five months.
The Gulf Coast refinery utilization rate was 89.4% in the week that ended September 30, the lowest figure since the week that ended May 6, EIA data showed.
"Padd 3 is drawing very hard," a diesel source said of the US market, meaning there was less marginal volume available for export.
So far there are no November cargoes that have loaded from Gulf Coast ports heading for European discharge.
