
Ethanol profit margins have improved as ethanol prices rose and corn prices held steady or eased, with Iowa-model profits around 24 cents a gallon in early September. An economist said the sector uses about 35% of the US corn crop and that grain sorghum use in ethanol has been strong.
Marine fuel demand for ethanol is cited as a potential future boost.
Better plant margins encourage higher corn and sorghum grind, supporting feed-grain demand, while a new marine outlet could add further ethanol demand. The effect is a modest support for corn prices.
Not enough comparable past events yet for a historical read.
Moves of each commodity's benchmark from the last close before the event. Historical reads pool past events of the same kind; they describe what happened, not what will. Not investment advice.