Ethanol production 6.3% above last year, but 2.4% less than 2019

In Washington, D.C., ethanol production slowed by 43,000 barrels per day (b/d), or 4.1%, to a seven-week low of 1.035 million b/d, equivalent to 43.47 million gallons daily, according to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association. Production was 6.3% above the same week last year, which was affected by the pandemic, but 2.4% less than the same week in 2019. The four-week average ethanol production volume declined by 1.7% to 1.053 million b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 16.14 billion gallons (bg).

Ethanol stocks rose 0.7% to a 12-week high of 20.3 million barrels. However, stocks were 4.4% below the year-ago level and 1.6% lower than the same week in 2019. Inventories increased in the Midwest (PADD 2) and Gulf Coast (PADD 3) but thinned across the other regions.

The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of implied demand, dropped 5.8% over the holiday week to a six-month low of 8.80 million b/d (134.84 bg annualized). Gasoline demand was 10.3% above a year ago but 2.6% less than the same week in 2019.

Refiner/blender net inputs of ethanol decreased 0.3% to a 31-week low of 883,000 b/d, equivalent to 13.54 bg annualized. Net inputs were 11.5% above a year ago but 2.1% below the same week in 2019.

There were zero imports of ethanol recorded for the fifth consecutive week. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of September 2021.)