Ethanol Blog

It was a slow week in the dried distillers grains market, with prices hovering at levels comparable to the week before, as interest was lackluster most of the week.

The DTN weekly spot price average rose only slightly in the past week, to $233 per ton this week from $232 per ton last week. This marks the fourth consecutive week that the average has risen, although only $6 per ton in that time -- from $227 per ton the third week of May to this week's level of $233. Still, the last time DDG prices were at the $233 per ton level was in June 2012.

Of the 29 Midwestern locations DTN collects prices from, 12 locations reported their prices had increased from last week, while 15 locations said their prices remained the same. Price increases were reported from only two locations.

Merchandisers told DTN that offers were slow this week, with bids down. Any slight firmness in price was attributed to soybean meal being high for this time of year. Exports, however, did not slow down, especially nearby for June and July.

The value of DDG relative to corn jumped from 98% last week to 101.38% this week, rising over 100% for the first time since late April. The value of DDG relative to soybean meal remained virtually unchanged at about 51%.

The cost per unit of protein for DDG this week was $9.32, compared to the cost per unit of soybean meal for $9.53.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@telventdtn.com.

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