Ethanol producers slip into the red in January: report

In Iowa, ethanol producers averaged 11 cents per gallon in the red in January according to new figures from Iowa State University’s extension service. Ethanol plants paid an average of $6.19 per bushel of corn compared to $3.60 per bushel two years earlier. Operating margins during December, 69 cents in November, 42 cents in October and 34 cents in September. Whereas producers typically try to sell ethanol at a discount of 45 cents to the wholesale unleaded gasoline price, instead they had to sell at a discount of 85 cents.