EIA: Ethanol Stocks Down 1.8%

WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Domestic ethanol inventories reversed lower from a record high in the week ended March 29 even as output moved 2.5% higher and blending demand declined, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday, April 3.

EIA reported domestic ethanol inventories declined by a sizable 456,000 barrels (bbl) to 23.992 million bbl during the week ended March 29, while still posting 7.1% surplus from a year ago.

Regionally, stocks declined across three PAD districts, as PADD 3 Gulf Coast inventories tumbled 6.5% from the prior week, while West Coast PADD V stockpiles extended losses, albeit at a slower pace.

East Coast PADD 1 stocks dipped 140,000 bbl to 7.883 million bbl, but are still 11.3% higher from a year ago. At the Midwest PADD 2, stockpiles gained 86,000 bbl to 9.348 million bbl, a steep 12% higher from a year ago. Gulf Coast PADD 3 inventories moved 337,000 bbl lower to 4.312 million bbl, while posting 7.5% surplus from a year ago. West Coast PADD V ethanol inventories continued lower to 2.133 million bbl in the profiled week, while down 22% from a prior year.

Net refiner and blender inputs, a measure for ethanol demand, shifted 11,000 barrels per day (bpd) lower to 909,000 bpd in the week ended March 29. For the four weeks average, blending demand totaled 915,000 bpd against 907,000 bpd from the same four-week period in 2018.

Plant production moved 24,000 bpd higher to 999,000 bpd in the week ended March 29, a 3.8% decline from a year prior. Ethanol plant output in Midwest gained 21,000 bpd to 924,000 bpd. Four-week averaged production was 996,000 bpd versus 1.038 million bpd during the corresponding four-week period in 2018.

(BM/AG)

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