US ethanol production moves deeper into red

摘要

Profit margins for US corn-based ethanol producers sank to 2012 lows in June as selling prices for the biofuel fell, data compiled by Iowa State University showed in July. Margins dipped further into negative territory to minus 17 cents/gallon, down 10 cents/gallon from May, reaching the lowest level ever recorded by the university's ethanol profitability model, which started in January 2005. Ethanol producers have been operating in the red since the start of 2012, owing to a combination of oversupply and increased corn costs. In June, ethanol selling prices fell to $2/gallon from $2.11/gallon in May, while corn costs softened to $6.26/bushel from $6.28/bushel and Distillers' Dried Grain prices remained unchanged at $216/mt.