NPRA '07: Latam ethanol arbitrage to US closed

26 March 2007 22:07  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS news)--The arbitrage to ship ethanol from Brazil and Latin American countries to the US will stay closed unless prices move above the $2.50/gal mark, traders said on Monday.

Spot ethanol were last assessed for the Midwest area at $2.30-2.35/gal this week by global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing,.

“The volume of ethanol shipped from Brazil in 2006 hasn’t been needed in 2007”, one trader said on the sidelines of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association's chemical meeting. 

Renewable Fuel Association (RFA) production tallies indicated current ethanol production capacity at slightly over 5bn gal/year, compared to about 4bn in 2006. Output is slated to grow to about 12bn gal/year on the back of planned expansions and new constructions by end 2007.

This exponential production growth was partly blamed for the lower domestic prices which have led to the closure of the arbitrage.  

Major US ethanol producers include Archer Daniels Midland, Abengoa, and Cargill among numerous others. Blenders and buyers include ConocoPhillips, Citgo, ChevronTexaco and most other US gasoline sellers.

By: Judith Taylor
+1 713 525 2653

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