News

Ethanol production up, stocks down, demand signals mixed

U.S. ethanol production moved higher last week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production averaged 989,000 barrels a day, up 19,000 on the week and 69,000 on the year.

Some producers continue to be caught between keeping production at high levels to take advantage of margins and scaling back because of seasonal maintenance and long-term demand uncertainties.

The Renewable Fuels Association says two key indicators of demand were mixed, with net inputs by refiners and blenders declining fractionally to a six-week low but holding above the five-year average, while the volume of gasoline supplied to the market increased 1.6% from the previous week but stayed well below its average pace.

U.S. ethanol stocks fell 395,000 barrels to 23.138 million, the tightest domestic supply since June, which is still 2.748 million more than this time last year.

The USDA’s next corn for ethanol use estimate is out Monday, September 12th at Noon Eastern/11 Central.