USDA reported corn-for-ethanol use totaled 457.4 million bu. during January, 8.4 million bu. less than analysts expected. Corn ethanol use fell 22.3 million bu. (4.6%) from the upwardly revised figure for December but rose 16.3 million bu. (3.7%) from January 2024.
Of note: USDA increased its December corn-for-ethanol usage figure by 6.5 million bushels. Given the historically high per-bushel yield of 3.04 gallons for January, up from 2.95 gallons in December, we expect an upward revision to the January usage figure next month.
Through the first five months of 2024-25, corn-for-ethanol use totaled 2.323 billion bu., up 2.2% from the same period last year. To reach USDA’s forecast of 5.500 billion bu., the corn ethanol usage pace would need to run 0.9% below year-ago the final seven months of 2024-25.
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