Chad Smith, NAFB News Service

Ethanol output dropped week-to-week to its lowest level in over two months while stockpiles continue to increase. The Energy Information Administration says U.S. production of the biofuel dropped to an average of 934,000 barrels a day in the week ending on Christmas Day, down from 976,000 barrels the previous week. That’s the lowest total since the week ending on October 16. The Midwest, by far the biggest-producing region, output averaged 891,000 barrels a day. That’s a drop from 929,000 barrels a day the previous week and the lowest it’s been since mid-October. Gulf coast production also went lower, averaging 13,000 barrels a day last week, down from 17,000 the prior week. East Coast ethanol production was unchanged at 12,000 barrels a day, while both the Rocky Mountain and West Coast production levels were unchanged at 9,000 barrels a day. Ethanol stockpiles in the week ending on Christmas Day totaled 23.504 million metric tons. The Energy Information Administration says that’s up from 23.169 million metric tons in storage the previous week, and it’s the highest amount in storage since May 15.