News

Ethanol stocks inch higher as production holds

The domestic ethanol supply rose over the past week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says ethanol stocks of 25.22 million barrels were the largest since May, up 33,000 on the week and 2.618 million on the year due to higher production as the industry tries to meet demand.

Ethanol production last week averaged 1.099 million barrels per day, unchanged from the previous week and 44,000 above a year ago.

The Iowa State University Center for Agricultural and Rural Development says the estimated operating margin for the average Iowa plant remained in positive territory, supporting a major portion of domestic corn use.

The other weekly demand signals were generally solid.

The Renewable Fuels Association says net inputs of ethanol purchased by refiners and blenders, and the volume of gasoline supplied to the market both saw week-to-week increases.

Ethanol exports averaged 161,000 barrels per day, 17,000 higher than the week before and 58,000 more than 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 October 9^th.