The estimated production margin for a typical US Midwest dry-mill ethanol plant fell 1.06 cents, or 2.19%, to a 14-month low of 47.65 cents/gallon, a review of US Department of Agriculture and Platts data showed.
The margin fell for the seventh straight week to the lowest level since July 2013 as rising feedstock corn prices undermined rebounding ethanol prices.
The estimated ethanol price used in calculating the margin was the weekly average of the Platts Chicago Argo ethanol assessment, which added 4.02 cents, or 2.63%, to $1.5971/gal, up from a six-year low.
The weekly average estimated delivered feedstock corn cost moved up 7.76 cents, or 2.5%, to $3.1768/bushel, up from a five-year low.
Additionally, the weekly average estimated dried distiller grain byproduct price moved down $7.32 to $102.04/st, the lowest level six-week low.
The estimated denaturant cost shed 10.75 cents to a two-year low of $1.7645/gal, while the estimated monthly natural gas cost was unchanged at $4.09/MMBtu.
The denaturant cost was based on the weekly average of the Platts natural gasoline assessment at the Conway, Kansas, hub, while the gas cost was based on the October Platts Chicago ANR 7 pipeline monthly index.
The estimated production margin for a typical dry-mill ethanol plant was calculated by weighing Platts and government agency data, including average delivered corn cost, dried distiller grain prices, natural gas prices, certain blending costs and ethanol prices.
Fixed-cost calculations were based on a 50 million gal/year-capacity Midwestern plant with 32 employees working at an average salary of $47,300/year.
