The Renewable Fuels Association took a look at numbers from the Energy Information Administration and found ethanol production rose during the week ending May 8. Production grew 3.2 percent, or about 19,000 barrels per day, to 25.91 million gallons daily. That’s the highest production level the industry has reached in the last five weeks. Still, production does remain well below normal, down just over 41 percent from the same week last year. Ethanol stocks tightened by 5.6 percent to 24.2 million barrels, While the inventory level is high, that’s the lowest level of ethanol stocks since March 20. Every major ethanol-producing region saw its ethanol inventories decrease, except for the Rocky Mountains, where stocks went slightly higher. However, the number of total reserves is up just over eight percent higher than the same time in 2019. The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market is an implied measure of ethanol demand, jumping 11 percent higher to just under 7.4 million gallons. While that is positive news, the demand number is still 19 percent lower than last year. Refiner/blender net inputs were up 11 percent higher, but still 30 percent below last year’s levels.