Ethanol Output at 14-Week High
NEW YORK (DTN) -- Domestic ethanol supplies climbed again last week, with total inventories rising 200,000 barrels (bbl), or 1.4%, to a three-week high of 15.9 million bbl during the week-ended Mar. 28, lifted by rising production and falling demand, data issued Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed.
The deficit for total ethanol stocks compared to a year earlier is now down to 1.6 million bbl, or 9.2%, with stocks rising in the Midwest and along the East Coast.
P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
The EIA data showed PADD 1 East Coast supplies increased 300,000 bbl to a five-week high of 5.0 million bbl last week. PADD 2 Midwest supplies jumped 300,000 bbl to a three-week high of 6.4 million bbl.
However, PADD 3 Gulf Coast supply was drawn down 300,000 bbl to 2.4 million bbl for the week reviewed. Inventories were unchanged in PADD 4 Rocky Mountain and for PADD 5 West Coast at 300,000 bbl and 1.8 million bbl, respectively.
EIA also showed ethanol production at U.S. plants soared last week to a 14-week high, adding 37,000 barrels per day (bpd), or 4.2%, to 922,000 bpd during the week-ended March 28, while up 115,000 bpd, or 14.2%, from a year ago. Four-week average production at 892,000 bpd was up 10.9% from a year earlier.
Refiner and blender inputs, a proxy for demand, declined 7,000 bpd, or 0.8%, to 850,000 bpd. Ethanol demand had risen to a three-month high a week prior. The latest demand data still shows a 4.0% increase from a year earlier while the four-week average at 848,000 bpd was up 2.9% from a year earlier.
EIA reported that 11,000 bpd of ethanol was imported into the country last week after several weeks without reported imports, while a year ago 49,000 bpd was imported. All of the imports were received along the East Coast.
(BM/AG)
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