Brazil ethanol prices up 6% as rainfall lingers

30 April 2008 23:21  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Brazil’s hydrous ethanol prices were up by nearly 6% this week, as heavy rainfall continued to stall the restart of centre-south mills, market sources said on Wednesday.

Spot hydrous ethanol traded as high as Brazilian reais (R) 910/cubic metre (m³) on Wednesday, up by R50/m³ from a week earlier, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

Brazil uses hydrous ethanol as a substitute for gasoline in its booming fleet of flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs), which account for more than 85% of the country’s auto sales.

Little change in the weather was expected for the remainder of the week, and prices were likely to stay at present levels, one buyer said.

Brazil’s forecast service Climatempo on Wednesday put the chance of rain for inland Sao Paulo state at 60-80% through 4 May.

Sao Paulo is the centre-south ethanol powerhouse, accounting for about 65% of the region’s ethanol production.

Centre-south ethanol mills operate from April to November, the months that coincide with the sugarcane harvest in the south of Brazil.

For more on ethanol visit ICIS chemical intelligence

Bookmark Simon Robinson’s Big Biofuels Blog for some independent thinking on biofuels

By: William Lemos
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