Ethanol Gains on Rising Gasoline Futures, Blended-Fuel Output

Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Ethanol rose to an eight-week high in Chicago on rising gasoline futures and on an Energy Department report showing a second weekly increase in U.S. production of blended fuel.

The biofuel’s futures gained 0.9 percent as gasoline for December delivery rose 0.1 percent to $2.6272 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Production of conventional gasoline blended with ethanol rose 1.3 percent to 5.22 million barrels a day in the week ended Oct. 28, the Energy Department said today. Stockpiles declined 0.5 percent to 17.2 million barrels.

“Ethanol remained firm throughout the day with the physical supply fairly tight,” Justin Dirico, senior ethanol trader at SCB & Associates LLC in Chicago, said by telephone.

Denatured ethanol for November delivery rose 2.6 cents to $2.786 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest settlement price since Sept. 7. Futures have gained 17 percent this year.

In cash-market trading, ethanol in the U.S. Gulf was unchanged at $2.805 a gallon, and in Chicago the additive gained 7 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $2.81, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Ethanol on the West Coast gained 3 cents, or 1 percent, to $3.055 a gallon, and in New York the biofuel fell 16.5 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $2.865, Bloomberg data show.

--Editors: Charlotte Porter, Bill Banker

To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Doom in New York at jdoom1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net