Ethanol production remains unchanged

In Washington, D.C., ethanol production averaged 1.046 million barrels per day (b/d)—or 43.93 million gallons daily, —unchanged from the week before, according to government data released and analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association. The four-week average for ethanol production rose to 1.053 million b/d for an annualized rate of 16.14 billion gallons. Stocks of ethanol rose to 23.9 million barrels, an increase of 1.0 million barrels and the highest level in eight weeks. Approximately 0.8 million barrels of the increase occurred in the Gulf Coast, which potentially was product being positioned for export shipment in advance of the holidays. There were zero imports recorded for the fifth week in a row. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of October 2018.)

Average weekly gasoline demand expanded 2.3% to 9.243 million b/d (388.2 million gallons per day) for a seven-week high. This is equivalent to 141.70 billion gallons annualized. Refiner/blender input of ethanol improved 1.5% to 924,000 b/d, equivalent to 14.16 billion gallons annualized. Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production decreased to 11.32%.