US July ethanol output highest ever: EIA

US production of fuel ethanol in July set a monthly record at 1.09mn b/d as producers were incentivized by low feedstock prices amid robust demand.

July output was up by 5.1pc from the previous month and 5.6pc higher than a year earlier, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Monday. Output during the month was 2,000 b/d above the previous record set in August 2018.

Low prices for corn feedstock, which arrived during the demand-heavy summer driving season for gasoline — a proxy for ethanol blending and demand — helped bolster production rates.

Front month CBOT corn prices in July averaged 398¢/bushel, the lowest since September 2020 and 28pc less than a year earlier. Value for corn has been under pressure from healthy domestic crop yields.

US supplied finished motor gasoline reached 9.3mn b/d, up by 177,000 b/d from June and about 300,000 b/d higher than a year earlier. Ethanol blending in July was 914,000 b/d – little changed over the month and from a year earlier.

By Payne Williams