Surging ethanol prices hit two-month high
U.S. ethanol prices have risen to their highest point in almost two months, extending a rally amid surging corn costs and higher demand for the gasoline additive.
Corn prices have climbed almost 50 percent since the start of September after hot, dry weather in July damaged the U.S. crop, and ethanol production rose to a record. Corn futures reached a 10-year high in Chicago futures trading recently. Most ethanol in the U.S. is made from the grain.
“Corn has gone up so dramatically in just the last six weeks that I think some of the ethanol producers either had to raise their prices or cut some production,” said consultant Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.
Ethanol averaged $2.22 a gallon as of Friday, up 1.4 percent from $2.19 on Nov. 3, based on data from distributors in Des Moines and other Midwest locations.
It’s the highest since Sept. 15.
