Brazil greenlights direct hydrous ethanol sales

In Brazil, Reuters reports that the national energy council CNPE finally approved direct sales of hydrous ethanol from mills to gas station owners last Thursday. The policy shift which has been under consideration for a year is expected to make ethanol more competitive against gasoline, boosting demand in turn. In an unrelated move, the BNDES national development bank approved a $586 million soft loan program to support ethanol producers. The funding is linked to ethanol stocks which have built up significantly on the back of COVID-19 control measures that significantly reduced demand for ethanol.