Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration on Friday lifted restrictions on the sale of higher ethanol blends of gasoline, keeping a campaign promise to farmers suffering from the trade war with China but inviting a legal challenge from the oil industry. The announcement allows gasoline stations to sell blends containing up to 15 per […] Read more
Trump lifts curbs on E15 gasoline
ADM’s move to spin off ethanol assets speaks to industry’s woes
New York/Chicago | Reuters — Biofuels pioneer Archer Daniels Midland took another step toward abandoning its pure-play ethanol assets on Friday, the latest sign of the industry’s struggles with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars, thin margins, and overproduction. U.S. law requires ethanol to be blended into gasoline but domestic demand for the biofuel added […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: DDGS market to adjust with E15 move
MarketsFarm — The prospect of higher-ethanol gasoline blends year-round in the U.S., and a likely increase in production of the renewable fuel, would also result in more distillers dried grains (DDGS) looking for a home in global livestock feed channels. However, that won’t mean an oversupply of the ethanol byproduct, as feed markets will adjust, […] Read more
Trump’s EPA unveils plan to pump up ethanol as Big Oil cries foul
Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday released its proposed rule lifting a summer ban on higher-ethanol blends of gasoline to help farmers, putting the agency on a collision course with Big Oil which has called the move illegal. The proposal to broaden sales of the so-called E15 rule marks the latest flashpoint […] Read more
U.S. EPA changed rules to help refiners get biofuel waivers, suit alleges
Reuters — U.S. environmental regulators quietly changed the way they assess applications from refineries for waivers from the nation’s biofuels law, making it possible for highly profitable plants to secure lucrative exemptions, according to court documents filed by a biofuels trade group on Thursday. The new documents, part of a lawsuit that began last year, […] Read more
Expanding E15 sales would have limited U.S. market impact, analysts say
Chicago | Reuters — The Trump administration’s plan to allow year-round sales of higher-grade corn ethanol would have limited impact on the depressed U.S. ethanol market, with record supplies and prices for the fuel hovering near the lowest in a decade, analysts said. President Donald Trump announced the decision last week ahead of a campaign […] Read more
Trump raises ethanol use in gasoline, appeases farmers ahead of elections
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump launched an effort on Tuesday to increase ethanol use in the nation’s gasoline pool, delivering a long-sought political victory to the nation’s Farm Belt and angering oil refiners ahead of November’s congressional elections. Trump announced the lifting of a ban on summer sales of gasoline blended with […] Read more
U.S. EPA chief hints he could order more ethanol in fuel
New York | Reuters — A week after the White House suspended its bid to reform the nation’s biofuels policy to aid oil refiners, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday dangled a tantalizing prospect to Midwest corn farmers, saying the agency has the power to expand sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends. […] Read more
U.S. biofuels deal reported to be delayed indefinitely
Reuters — The Trump administration has indefinitely delayed a proposed overhaul of U.S. biofuels policy aimed at reducing costs for the oil industry, under pressure from corn state lawmakers who worry the move would undermine demand for ethanol, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The White House had been poised to announce reforms […] Read more
Trump said considering counting ethanol exports toward quotas
New York | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump told a group of senators on Tuesday he is considering allowing exported ethanol to count toward the volumes mandated under the nation’s biofuels law, a move intended to appease both Big Oil and Big Corn by cutting the refiners’ regulatory costs while preserving demand for corn. […] Read more
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