Feb 20 (Reuters) - Northwest European gasoline refining margins edged higher on Monday ahead of major European refinery turnarounds, but remained close to the average so far this month, which has fallen by almost 8% since January as a result of declining transatlantic shipments.

* Germany's Schwedt refinery, whose majority owner Rosneft Deutschland

has been put under trusteeship by the government, will undergo major maintenance in spring that will lower utilisation to less than half.

* The outage coincides with works at oil major Shell's Pernis refinery in Rotterdam from the start of March to the end of May.

* Gasoline cracks, however, remain capped by limited northwest European exports to the United States so far this month as a result of ample U.S. stocks, soaring freight rates, and inclement weather hitting U.S. demand, according to Refinitiv analysis.

* Refinitiv tracking shows just two medium-range $(MR)$ tankers provisionally booked on the transatlantic route this week compared with five a week earlier.

* Exports on the route to west Africa have also fallen.

* In northwestern Europe, gasoline stocks were stable near highs last seen in August as exports to the United States continue at a low level, according to Dutch consultancy Insights Global. .

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(Reporting by Rowena Edwards; editing by Barbara Lewis)

((Rowena.Edwards@thomsonreuters.com;))