U.S. ethanol production rose a modest 0.7 percent last week to an average of 1.118 million barrels a day. Output was lower than the average analyst guess from a Bloomberg survey. Production was still 3.1 percent higher than the same week last year and a record for the week.

Estimated corn crushed for ethanol was about 107.9 million bushels. Cumulative crushings for the marketing year reached approximately 2.529 billion bushels, 45 percent of the USDA’s 2025/26 target.

The estimated operating margin for the average Iowa plant remained in positive territory despite a weekly decline, according to Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

U.S. ethanol inventories rose 1.4 percent last week to 25.59 million gallons. Stockpiles were 2.4 percent below year-ago levels but remained above the five-year average for the week.

Implied gasoline demand is holding at its highest level since late-January. The four-week average is above prior-seasonal levels, likely due to cheaper prices.

Ethanol exports averaged 177,000 barrels a day last week, up from 137,000 barrels the previous week and 138,000 the same week last year. Shipments were also above the four-week average.

U.S. Census data released on Thursday showed that ethanol exports hit a record 220 million gallons in December. That brought shipments for 2025 to 2.18 billion gallons. That was a record for a second year in a row, increasing 12.6 percent from 2024.

Exports have been the primary growth driver for U.S. ethanol production over the past year.

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