United States ethanol hit by Midwest floods, pushing gas prices down to five-year high



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In the United States, ethanol is made from corn and the government requires it to be mixed with the country's fuel supply to reduce emissions.

Some ethanol plants have been flooded, but the rise of the waters has had the effect of closing the railways that are the main route of supply of corn and ethanol.

Coastal ethanol prices have risen due to shortages, but Midwestern producers have not been able to take advantage of rundown railways, commercial sources told Reuters .

"Unfortunately for those who were affected by logistical problems, it was a double blow – you could not capture the rally," said a trader.

At Chicago's Argo Terminal, the main hub of ethanol prices in the United States, the spot price of ethanol fell for the eighth consecutive time last week to $ 1.29 on gallon, the longest decline since April of last year, according to the daily Oil Price Information Service, which sells daily valuations.

Initially, fears of widespread plant outages reinforced this benchmark, but mills proved to be more resilient than expected and continued to produce despite logistical challenges.

Some ethanol plants have been flooded, but the rise of the waters has had the effect of closing the railways that are the main route of supply of corn and ethanol.

Coastal ethanol prices have risen because of shortages, but Midwestern producers have not been able to take advantage of the deteriorating railway lines, market sources said to Reuters.

"Unfortunately for those who were affected by logistical problems, it was a double blow – you could not capture the rally," said a trader.

At Chicago's Argo Terminal, the main hub of ethanol prices in the United States, the spot price of ethanol fell for the eighth consecutive time last week to $ 1.29 on gallon, the longest decline since April of last year, according to the daily Oil Price Information Service, which sells daily valuations.

Initially, fears of widespread plant outages reinforced this benchmark, but mills proved to be more resilient than expected and continued to produce despite logistical challenges.

At least one California county has already exceeded $ 4 a gallon. The highest average price recorded for the state was $ 4.67 per gallon in October 2012, according to AAA.

High prices on the coast attracted barrels from the largest US competitor, Brazil. According to Refinitiv Eikon's vessel tracking data, total ethanol imports in the United States totaled 558,279 barrels in March, the highest level since 2013. Most imports during the month came from the United States. Brazil, according to monitoring data.

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