Ethanol industry roiled by flooding, lifting SoCal gasoline prices near $4/gal
Source: By Carl Surran, Seeking Alpha • Posted: Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Ethanol shortages from the Midwest are one factor pushing gasoline prices in Southern California to the highest in the U.S., possibly topping $4/gal for the first time since 2014, says tracking firm GasBuddy.
The floods knocked out ~13% of U.S. ethanol production capacity, mostly from shut rail lines that serve as the main arteries for corn and ethanol deliveries; ethanol prices on the coasts spiked due to shortages, but Midwest producers have been unable to take advantage because of the washed-out rail lines, Reuters reports.
At Chicago’s Argo terminal, the main U.S. ethanol pricing hub, the cash price for ethanol fell for an eighth straight session last Friday to $1.29/gal, the longest downward skid since April 2018.
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