US ethanol production averaged 901,000 b/d in the week ended Sept. 16, 62,000 b/d lower on the week and 25,000 b/d lower from a year ago, Energy Information Administration data showed Sept. 21.
Production remained down to the lowest level since the week ended Feb. 26, 2021. Production was just within the low end of market expectations.
US ethanol stocks also decreased, falling by 342,000 barrels to end the week with 22.501 million barrels. Stocks were on the low side of market expectations.
Midwest inventories led all draws with a massive 702,000-barrel decline. The Midwest hosts the most liquid trading hub in the US at a Kinder Morgan terminal near Chicago, as well as most of the ethanol production plants in the US.
West Coast inventories fell by 82,000 barrels, as the EIA reported no ethanol imports into the region. Ethanol imports typically flow into California, as imported sugarcane-based ethanol from Brazil generates more value from carbon credits under the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
East Coast stocks, on the other hand, added 260,000 barrels. Gulf Coast stocks gained 189,000 barrels. The region is the most common origin for exports but also hosts large consumption hubs.
The four-week rolling average of the refiner and blender net ethanol input fell 10,000 b/d to 896,000 b/d, while the weekly average also fell by 15,000 b/d to 879,000 b/d.
The four-week rolling average of gasoline demand, represented by product supplied, dropped by 29,000 b/d to 8.533 million b/d. The weekly average decreased by 172,000 b/d to 8.322 million b/d.
The four-week rolling average of the ethanol blending rate, calculated by dividing the refiner and blender ethanol input by gasoline demand, fell to 10.50% from 10.58%.
US ethanol days of supply – calculated by dividing inventories by the refiner and blender net ethanol input – remained flat at 25.6 days for the third week in a row.