US weekly ethanol production down, below estimates, stocks rise

US weekly ethanol production declined by 6,000 barrels per day (b/d) to 1.078 million b/d in the week ending February 23, according to data published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday.

Over the week, full production equated to consumption of 2.78 million mt of corn, down 10,000 mt from the previous week.

Ethanol stocks added 520,000 barrels week on week to 26.02 million barrels in the period covered by the report, with the Gulf Coast adding 511,000 barrels.

Before the data release, analysts had anticipated production to decline by 12,000 barrels to around 1.084 million b/d, and stocks to rise by 139,000 barrels to 25.65 million.

Margins calculated through a model from Iowa State University showed that the estimated return over operating costs for the average Midwest-based plant increased by 4 c/gallon to 33 c/gallon in the week ending February 23.

Corn prices for the week lowered by 16 c/bu to $3.91/bu.

Meanwhile, finished ethanol prices remained steady from last week at $1.41/gallon.