According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending December 30, ethanol production dropped precipitously, down 12.4% to 844,000 b/d. This is equivalent to 35.45 million gallons daily and the smallest volume since mid-February 2021. Production was 19.5% lower than the same week last year and 16.3% below the five-year average for the week. The four-week average ethanol production decreased 5.6% to 974,000 b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 14.93 billion gallons (bg).
Ethanol stocks declined 0.8% to 24.4 million barrels, yet stocks were 14.4% more than a year ago and 8.1% above the five-year average. Inventories thinned across all regions except the Midwest (PADD 2).
The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of implied demand, plummeted 19.4% to a 97-week low of 7.51 million b/d (115.19 bg annualized). Demand was 8.1% less than a year ago and 9.0% below the five-year average.
Refiner/blender net inputs of ethanol also waned, down 13.9% to a 51-week low of 789,000 b/d, equivalent to 12.10 bg annualized. However, net inputs were 0.9% more than a year ago and 0.8% above the five-year average.
There were zero imports of ethanol recorded for the fourth consecutive week. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of November 2022.)