Ethanol production drops 4.4% but ethanol stocks expanded by 3.8%, highest since July

In Washington, D.C., ethanol production dropped 4.4%, or 48,000 barrels per day (b/d), to 1.033 million b/d—equivalent to 43.39 million gallons daily, according to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association. The four-week average ethanol production rate declined 1.4% to 1.048 million b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 16.07 billion gallons.

Ethanol stocks expanded by 3.8% to 24.4 million barrels, the highest since July. Inventories shifted higher across all PADDs. There were zero imports of ethanol recorded for the fourth consecutive week. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of December 2019.

The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market scaled back by 2.4% to 8.722 million b/d (366.32 million gallons per day, or 133.71 bg annualized). Refiner/blender net inputs of ethanol followed, settling 1.7% to 873,000 b/d—equivalent to 13.38 bg annualized. Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production decreased to 11.84%.