Ethanol Stocks Fall

By DTN Staff

OAKHURST, N.J. (DTN) -- Ethanol inventory in the United States during the week ended Sept. 4 fell for the first time in four weeks as stocks in the Gulf Coast tumbled enough to outpace a 2.1% hike in domestic production of the fuel to a six-week high and a more-than-3% slide in blending demand to an eight-week low, according to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration.

At 19.993 million barrels (bbl), domestic ethanol supply slid 889,000 bbl in the week profiled, an 11.1% year-over-year supply deficit.

Supply at the East Coast PADD 1 slid 4.6% following a gain of 1.6% the week prior while Midwest inventory held steady. At the Gulf Coast PADD 3, stocks dropped 10.5% for a second weekly downturn that left supply at the lowest level since early January 2017.

Blending activity, a measure of demand, slid 31,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 830,000 bpd in the week ended Sept. 4, an eight-week low and 10.8% below this time in 2019, the data show. Blending activity during the four weeks ended Sept. 4 averaged 851,000 bpd, 98,000 bpd below the comparable year-ago period.

Ethanol plant production jumped 19,000 bpd in the week profiled to 941,000 bpd, the highest level since the week ended July 24 while 8% lower than the corresponding week in 2019. Four-week average output is down 94,000 bpd against year ago at 930,000 bpd.

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