Ethanol production 12.2% below same week in 2019 as COVID-19 pandemic continues

In Washington, D.C., ethanol production pared back by 1.4%, or 13,000 barrels per day (b/d), to 918,000 b/d—equivalent to 38.56 million gallons daily, according to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, but remained 12.2% below the same week in 2019 as a result of the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The four-week average ethanol production rate declined 0.3% to 929,000 b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 14.24 billion gallons.

Ethanol stocks receded by 2.9% to 19.8 million barrels, which was 17.3% below year-ago volumes and the lowest level since the last week of 2016. Inventories thinned in the Midwest (PADD 2) and Gulf Coast (PADD 3) but increased across the other regions.

The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of implied demand, expanded 3.1% to 8.88 million b/d (136.18 bg annualized). Gasoline demand remained 10.6% lower than a year ago.

Refiner/blender net inputs of ethanol rose 2.0% to 861,000 b/d, equivalent to 13.20 bg annualized, which was 11.0% below the year-earlier level. Both gasoline and ethanol demand reached their highest levels since mid-March.

Imports of ethanol arriving into the West Coast were 24,000 b/d, or 7.06 million gallons for the week. This was the third consecutive week of imports. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of June 2020.)