Ethanol Blog

April futures rallied higher at the end of the month Friday afternoon, posting a strong 2.9-cent-per-gallon rally in front-month contracts. This pushed April contracts to $1.614 cents per gallon at settlement, which matches the high seen in February.

These two settlement price levels would be the highest price levels seen through the first quarter in 2017, creating additional momentum moving into April when additional demand is expected to be seen.

May contracts are expected to take over at higher price levels with contracts currently trading at a 2-cent premium to the April contract. This may spark additional support to the complex. Firm gains developed Friday in RBOB gasoline futures, as end-of-the-month buyers moved into the market, but traders remain focused on position squaring more than any other aspect of the market. Aggressive market price shifts are likely to continue over the near future.

Rick Kment can be reached at rick.kment@dtn.com

(ES)

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