# U.S. ethanol market sees first sales decline in decades

> Domestic U.S. ethanol sales dipped slightly in 2018, the first decline in about two decades, while production hit records. Industry members blame a large number of EPA blending waivers issued to refiners in 2017, and ethanol prices fell to levels not seen in over a decade.

- Date: 2019-03-16 · published 2019-03-16T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: policy · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/60070-u-s-ethanol-market-sees-first-sales-decline-in-decades
- Commodities: [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [DDGS](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DDGS.md)

## Why it matters

Weak ethanol prices and reduced blending demand lower the margin for ethanol plants, which can reduce corn grind and DDGS output over time, pressuring corn demand.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bearish ▼
- DDGS: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2019-08-05 | [U.S. designates China as currency manipulator for first time in decades](https://feedsoft.ai/events/57796-u-s-designates-china-as-currency-manipulator-for-first-time-in-decades.md) | -2.4% | -8.2% |
| CORN | 2020-03-19 | [Energy Markets Erode Ethanol Margins](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54133-energy-markets-erode-ethanol-margins.md) | +1.1% | -1.8% |
| CORN | 2023-12-12 | [Argentina’s Milei Devalues Peso by 54% in First Batch of Shock Measures - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/32997-argentina-s-milei-devalues-peso-by-54-in-first-batch-of-shock-measures-bloomberg.md) | +1.9% | +0.1% |
| CORN | 2018-04-02 | [How EPA is Destroying Demand for Ethanol and Corn \| Energy.AgWired.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/65399-how-epa-is-destroying-demand-for-ethanol-and-corn-energy-agwired-com.md) | +2.3% | +3.1% |
| CORN | 2019-08-30 | [Interview: Ringneck Energy looks to avoid US ethanol industry's woes: CEO](https://feedsoft.ai/events/57583-interview-ringneck-energy-looks-to-avoid-us-ethanol-industry-s-woes-ceo.md) | -2.4% | +1.4% |

## Sources

- m.startribune.com: https://m.startribune.com/u-s-ethanol-market-sees-first-sales-decline-in-decades/507212642/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.