Argo ethanol falls to historic low

The S&P Global Platts benchmark Chicago Argo ethanol was assessed at an an all-time low Monday as coronavirus fears continued to hammer global energy markets.

Platts assessed Chicago Argo ethanol at $1.04/gal on Monday, a decline of 14 cents.

The assessment was the lowest for the nation's dominant ethanol trading hub ever seen, far surpassing the previous record of $1.1550/gal, last seen in July 2003.

As governments across the world have urge citizens to stay at home, markets have slumped on expectations that demand for fuel will be severely curtailed.

One source in the ethanol market told Platts that some are estimating that demand for gasoline could drop by as much as 15% compared to 2019.

Front-month CBOT corn futures slumped 11 cents to settle at 3.5475/bu.

Crush margins sank to minus 22.70 cents/gal, the lowest level since Platts began tracking the margin in 2016.

Sinking margins have spurred speculation that some ethanol plants will have to shut down, with one source calling it 'inevitable.'