Ethanol Stocks Decline
NEW YORK (DTN) -- The Energy Information Administration released data late Wednesday morning showing ethanol inventories in the United States eased again last week while production soared to a fresh record high and blending demand rose to a one-month high.
Total ethanol stocks decreased nearly 100,000 barrels (bbl) to 17.6 million bbl during the week-ended Dec. 19, while up 2.0 million bbl or 12.5% from the level seen a year earlier.
P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
Regionally, the draws were reported in PADD 1 East Coast, down 100,000 bbl, and PADD 3 Gulf Coast, down 300,000 bbl, while supply in the PADD 2 Midwest was 300,000 bbl higher. Stocks along the West Coast and Rocky Mountain regions were flat.
Plant production climbed another 2,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week to 992,000 bpd, the highest output rate since EIA started keeping records in the summer of 2010. Production is up 7.1% year-over-year while the four-week average through Dec. 19 was up 5.9%.
Blender inputs, a proxy for ethanol demand, rose 23,000 bbl, or 2.7%, to 880,000 bpd, the highest since the week-ended Oct. 17, while up 26,000 bbl or 3.0% year-over-year. Over the four-week period through Dec. 19, blender inputs were 2.0% higher than during the same four weeks in 2013.
(BM/AG)
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