Ethanol Blog

A slow week in trade and some localized supply tightness resulted in another week that prices of dried distillers grains remained steady.

The DTN weekly spot price average remained unchanged for the second week in a row at $123 per ton. This is still the highest point the average has reached since mid-July.

Of the 36 Midwestern locations DTN collects spot prices from, 23 locations reported their spot prices had remained unchanged since last week. Prices at seven locations increased between $2 and $7 per ton in the past week, while six locations reported price decreases between $2 and $5 per ton.

Merchandisers told DTN that some slight tightness in local supplies added to the price stability this week, possibly from some plants still taking some downtime for fall maintenance shut-downs.

Another factor in the steady price trend is the fact that corn and soybean meal, both of which compete with DDG for its place in livestock rations, lost some ground and were slightly lower this week. Prices of DDG often mirror movement in prices of other feedstuffs.

Slow domestic trade is a challenge this week, although some buyers may just be waiting until after Thanksgiving to reassess their purchasing plans. Lackluster exports continue and may be helping keep DDG prices steady as well.

The value of DDG relative to corn remained steady at about 95% this week, after rising slightly from 92% two weeks ago. The value of DDG relative to soybean meal rose only slightly, from about 42% last week to about 43% this week.

The cost per unit of protein for DDG was $4.92 this week, compared to the cost per unit of protein for soybean meal at about $6.03.

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

(ES)

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