News

Ethanol production up as stocks drop

U.S. ethanol production gained ground for the second week in a row as stocks declined.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production averaged 1.039 million barrels a day, up 27,000 on the week and 76,000 on the year, encouraged by solid operating margins.

Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development says those margins for the average Iowa plant improved and are near the highs for the year thanks to lower corn prices and good demand.

The Renewable Fuels Association says demand during the week of Labor Day was stronger than expected, pulling the domestic supply to its lowest levels since late December 2021 at 21.171 million barrels, a drop of 450,000 from the previous week and 1.572 million from a year ago.

Still, the RFA says other demand signals were mixed with the summer driving season coming to a close as net inputs by refiners and blenders hit an eight week low and the volume of gasoline supplied to the market dropped to a 30 week low.

Ethanol exports averaged 68,000 barrels a day, a drop of 14,000 from the week before.

The USDA’s next corn for ethanol use estimate is out October 12^th.