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Ethanol production dips on week while holding above a year ago

U.S. ethanol production declined last week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says an average of 1.04 million barrels of ethanol were produced per day, falling 80,000 on the week possibly due to seasonal maintenance, but rising 7,000 on the year as the industry tries to meet expected demand.

The Iowa State University Center for Agricultural and Rural Development says the estimated operating margin for the average Iowa plant remains firmly in positive territory.

Ethanol stocks of 26.948 million barrels were 249,000 higher than the previous week and 1.467 million more than a year ago.

The Renewable Fuels Association says net inputs of ethanol purchased by refiners surged to a more than six-month high, even as the volume of gasoline supplied to the market dipped fractionally.

Ethanol exports averaged 91,000 barrels per day, an increase of 10,000 from the prior week and 16,000 from last year.

The USDA expects 5.6 billion bushels of corn to be used for ethanol production this marketing year, with the next guess out May 10^th.