(NDAgConnection.com) – According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association for the week ending Sept. 23, ethanol production dropped 5.1% to 855,000 barrels/day, equivalent to 35.91 million gallons daily and the smallest volume since February 2021. Production was 6.5% less than the same week last year and 10.5% below the five-year average for the week.

The four-week average ethanol production volume declined 3.0% to 927,000 b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 14.21 billion gallons (bg).

Ethanol stocks grew 0.8% to 22.7 million barrels. Stocks were 12.2% higher than a year ago and 4.9% above the five-year average. Inventories built in the East Coast (PADD 1) and Gulf Coast (PADD 3) but thinned across the other regions.

The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of implied demand, jumped 6.0% to a six-week high of 8.83 million b/d. However, demand was 6.1% less than a year ago and 2.8% below the five-year average.