EIA: US Ethanol Stocks Grow

By DTN Staff

OAKHURST, N.J. (DTN) -- Domestic inventory of ethanol gained after two consecutive weekly draws, rising 3.4% through Dec. 31 as demand slumped 14% and production, though lower, held above 1 million barrels per day (bpd) for a 13th consecutive week, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday morning.

U.S. ethanol plant production fell 11,000 bpd to 1.048 million bpd during the week profiled and averaged 1.061 million bpd over the most recent four weeks.

Net refiner, blender ethanol inputs tumbled 128,000 bpd or 14.1% through Dec. 31 to 782,000 bpd, the lowest level since the week ended Feb. 19, 2021 at 724,000 bpd while 8.8% above the comparable year-ago blend rate. Data show the West Coast PADD 5 blending rate toppled 17.1%, followed by Midwest PADD 2 refiners and blenders with a drop of 5.8% on the week. At the Gulf Coast PADD 3, the rate slid 13.5% while the East Coast PADD 1 registered an 11.7% falloff.

On the supply side, stocks in PADD 2 climbed 8.2% last week to 9.2 million bbl, the highest level since March 2019 while PADD 3 inventory rose 8.6% to 3.8 million bbl.

PADD 1 ethanol inventories dropped 5% to a five-week low 5.7 million bbl in the week ended Dec. 31 and PADD 5 stocks held at 2.2 million bbl.

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