Ethanol Blog

Spot ethanol prices posted gains Wednesday afternoon on data released midmorning by the Energy Information Administration showing domestic ethanol supply was drawn down sharply from a record high last week while implied demand surged. EIA reported an 800,000 bpd or 3.4% inventory drop to 23.0 million bbl during the week ended Jan. 26, the first draw after four straight weekly stock builds. Net refiner and blender inputs, a measure for ethanol demand, climbed 32,000 bpd or 3.9% to 858,000 bpd while up 21,000 bpd or 2.5% versus a year ago.

The bullish data brought many traders back to the market, said a trade source, with prompt delivered ethanol at the Argo terminal in Chicago trading nearly 20 times from $1.3675 to $1.3775 gallon for a gain of 1.0cts. This week transported ethanol by rail under Rule 11 terms traded at $1.38 gallon, up 2.25cts, while prompt delivered ethanol by barge in the New York Harbor was valued at $1.50 gallon for a 1.5cts gain.

George Orwel can be reached at george.orwel@dtn.com.

(CZ)

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