Ethanol Stocks Fall

By DTN Staff

OAKHURST, N.J. (DTN) -- Energy Information Administration data show domestic ethanol inventories declined 2.1% to a better than four-year low as of the week ended May 21, even though production and demand each fell about the same percentage.

Agency data show total ethanol inventories dropped 453,000 barrels (bbl) to 18.980 million bbl last week, the lowest level since the final week of December 2016 at 18.678 million bbl.

East Coast PADD 1 ethanol inventories fell 248,000 bbl to 6.234 million bbl, the lowest level since late September 2020 while Midwest PADD 2 stocks declined 128,000 bbl to 6.210 million bbl, also the lowest level since Nov. 6, 2020.

Data show Gulf Coast PADD 3 moved off a better than six months low, up 30,000 bbl to 3.878 million bbl while West Coast PADD 5 supply dropped 113,000 bbl to 2.293 million bbl.

Overall ethanol plant production dropped from a better than one-year high, down 21,000 barrels per day (bpd) or 2% to 1.011 million bpd while the four-week average output was at 994,000 bpd.

EIA reported PADD 2 ethanol plant production dropped for the first time in five weeks, also sliding from a better than one-year high. Output dropped 19,000 bpd or 1.9% to 966,000 bpd.

Blending activity, a measure of demand, dropped from a better than 16-month high, falling 17,000 bpd or 1.8% to 906,000 bpd last week. Blending activity during the four weeks ended May 21 averaged 901,000 bpd versus 663,000 bpd during the comparable year-ago period.

Midwest PADD 2 blending demand dropped 8,000 bpd on the week while at the Gulf Coast demand slid 7,000 bpd. For the four weeks ended May 21, EIA reports PADD 2 blending activity at 245,000 bpd while PADD 3 activity was 149,000 bpd.

(c) Copyright 2021 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.