Energy · ETHANOL

Ethanol price

Ethanol currently trades at US$2.04 per gallon (≈ €1.73 · £1.52) — effectively at the 12-month high. Over the past 12 months it has gained 13.33%, with the annual range running from US$1.53 to US$2.06. 24-hour movement is minimal (±0.00%).

US$2.04 / gallon
≈ €1.73 ≈ £1.52 Unchanged 24h 96% within the 52-week range
FX Editorial Team · Data updated: · Editorially verified
Ethanol (ETHANOL) price today US$2.04 / gallon, ↑ +0.00% (24h)

Ethanol chart

Interactive chart and 30-day overview

7 days
▲ +5.70%
+US$0.1100
30 days
▲ +7.37%
+US$0.1400
1 year
▲ +13.33%
+US$0.2400
52-week range
US$1.53 96% US$2.06
Ethanol (ETHANOL) 30-day price chart — USD, EUR, GBP

The Ethanol chart shows how the ethanol price has moved over time. The interactive view lets you switch the timeframe (from 7 days up to MAX), the currency (USD / EUR / GBP) and overlay moving averages. Click any two points to measure the percentage change between those dates.

How is ethanol priced?

Ethanol is priced per US gallon (1 gal = 3.785 litres / 0.0238 barrel) on the NYMEX and ICE. The gallon is the standard for US refined petroleum products including gasoline, heating oil and propane.

At US$2.04 per gallon, one litre wholesales for about US$0.5389 and one barrel is equivalent to US$85.68. End-user prices at the pump include refining margin, distribution, excise duty and VAT.

What drives the price of ethanol?

The largest source of demand support for the US ethanol market is the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a mandate administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under earlier energy laws. The rule requires about 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol to be blended into the US fuel pool each year, plus additional volumes of advanced biofuels, including cellulosic and sugarcane-based fuels. Refiners meet the obligation either by blending ethanol physically or by buying RIN credits (Renewable Identification Numbers). Daily moves in the RIN market feed directly into EH ethanol futures pricing. The number of Small Refinery Exemptions granted by the EPA is politically contested each year and can cause short-term price swings.

The main swing factor on the global supply side is the Brazilian sugar-ethanol production switch. Brazilian sugarcane mills operate with a dual model: the same cane can be used to produce sugar or ethanol, and mills reset the production mix weekly based on relative world prices. When sugar prices are high on the London and New York exchanges, less cane goes into ethanol and global ethanol supply tightens. Brazil is the world’s second-largest ethanol producer, at about 8 billion gallons a year, and UNICA (União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar) publishes weekly data on production ratios in the centre-south region. Brazilian ethanol is traded on the B3 exchange in São Paulo and is cheaper to produce than US corn ethanol.

Over the longer term, US producer margins are measured by the ethanol crush spread: the ethanol price per gallon minus the cost of the corn needed for processing, with about 0.36 bushel of corn required per gallon, plus revenue from the co-product DDGS (Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles), used as animal feed. If corn prices rise on the Chicago exchange without a corresponding rise in ethanol, mills cut utilisation and supply falls. On the substitution side, the petrol price, reflected in RBOB futures, also affects pricing. When petrol is cheap, refiners tend to blend only the mandated minimum ethanol volume; when petrol is expensive, higher blend rates can become economic. Weekly US ethanol production data are published every Wednesday in the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

How to invest in the ethanol industry

Ethanol is a specialist market. Because liquidity in the CBOT EH futures contract is thin, large retail brokers, including XTB and eToro, do not offer a direct ethanol CFD. A European retail investor usually gains ethanol exposure through companies in the supply chain: a pure US ethanol producer (Green Plains — GPRE), a refiner with a large ethanol division (Valero — VLO, one of the world’s biggest ethanol producers alongside its oil-refining business), an integrated agribusiness (Archer Daniels Midland — ADM, one of the largest US ethanol producers), or Brazilian sugarcane ethanol (Cosan — CSAN3, the parent company of Brazil’s Raízen). There is no separate pure-play ethanol ETF, but some renewable-fuels and agribusiness sector ETFs hold parts of this equity universe. The sector is heavily exposed to policy rules such as the RFS, RINs and EPA exemptions, so share prices tend to be cyclical.

30-day price history

Chart and daily closing prices

Ethanol (ETHANOL) 30-day price chart — USD, EUR, GBP

Daily close

30 trading days

Date Price (USD) Price (EUR) Price (GBP) Daily change
23 May 2026 US$2.04 €1.73 £1.52 ▲ +0.99%
22 May 2026 US$2.02 €1.72 £1.51 ▲ +1.00%
19 May 2026 US$2.00 €1.70 £1.49 ▲ +3.63%
16 May 2026 US$1.93 €1.64 £1.44 ▼ −1.03%
15 May 2026 US$1.95 €1.66 £1.45 ▼ −2.01%
14 May 2026 US$1.99 €1.69 £1.48 ▲ +1.02%
13 May 2026 US$1.97 €1.68 £1.47 ▲ +2.07%
11 May 2026 US$1.93 €1.64 £1.44 ▼ −2.03%
10 May 2026 US$1.97 €1.68 £1.47 ▼ −2.48%
6 May 2026 US$2.02 €1.72 £1.51 ▼ −0.98%
5 May 2026 US$2.04 €1.73 £1.52 ▼ −0.97%
2 May 2026 US$2.06 €1.75 £1.54 ▲ +1.98%
1 May 2026 US$2.02 €1.72 £1.51 ▼ −1.94%
30 Apr 2026 US$2.06 €1.75 £1.54 ▲ +3.52%
29 Apr 2026 US$1.99 €1.69 £1.48 ▼ −1.00%
28 Apr 2026 US$2.01 €1.71 £1.50 ▲ +2.55%
25 Apr 2026 US$1.96 €1.67 £1.46 ▲ +3.16%
21 Apr 2026 US$1.90 €1.62 £1.42 ▲ +0.53%
20 Apr 2026 US$1.89 €1.61 £1.41 —

Ethanol: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between bioethanol and industrial ethanol? +
Bioethanol, or fuel ethanol, is ethyl alcohol produced by fermentation and distillation from plant feedstocks such as corn in the US, sugarcane in Brazil, and wheat, sugar beet or corn in the EU. It is blended with petrol. The denatured version, Denatured Fuel Ethanol, which underlies the CBOT EH contract, is made unfit for human consumption by adding a small amount of petrol, so it is not treated as beverage alcohol for tax purposes. Industrial, or chemical-grade, ethanol is the same chemical compound but can also be produced synthetically from ethylene and falls under different tax and quality classifications.
What are E10, E15 and E85 fuels? +
The number shows the percentage of ethanol in the petrol-ethanol blend. E10, with 10% ethanol and 90% petrol, is the standard petrol blend in many European markets and is suitable for most modern petrol engines. E15, at 15%, is more common in the US. E85, at 85% in its summer formulation and often E70 or E75 in winter, is used in flex-fuel or converted engines. Availability of E85 varies widely by country and is generally limited outside markets with dedicated flex-fuel fleets.
Why is ethanol’s energy density lower than petrol’s? +
Pure ethanol has a volumetric heating value of about 21.3 MJ/litre, compared with about 32 MJ/litre for petrol. That means ethanol’s volumetric energy density is about ~67% of petrol’s. The reason is that the ethanol molecule is already partly oxidised, as it contains a hydroxyl group, -OH, so less energy is released per unit of volume during combustion. Ethanol has a much higher octane rating, about RON ~113 in pure form versus 95-octane petrol, which allows more efficient combustion in high-compression engines and partly offsets the energy gap.
What are the RFS and RIN? +
The RFS (Renewable Fuel Standard) is a US federal rule requiring refiners to blend specified volumes of renewable fuel, mainly corn ethanol, into their petrol each year. The current requirement is about 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol plus additional volumes of advanced biofuels. A RIN (Renewable Identification Number) is a tradable credit linked to compliance with that obligation. Each gallon of blended ethanol generates a RIN, and refiners can buy or generate RINs to meet their mandates. Moves in the RIN market price the effective demand premium for ethanol.
Why do sugar and ethanol compete in Brazil? +
Brazilian sugarcane mills operate as flex mills: the same processed cane can be turned into either sugar or ethanol, and mills reset the production ratio weekly according to relative world prices. When sugar prices are high, mills may direct 60–65% of cane to sugar; when petrol and ethanol prices are high, the mix shifts towards ethanol. This makes Brazil the largest swing producer in global ethanol supply. Weekly production ratios for the centre-south region are published by UNICA, the sugarcane industry association.
How large is global ethanol production? +
Annual global fuel-ethanol production is about 26 billion gallons. The United States accounts for the largest share, at about 15 billion gallons, mainly from corn. Brazil is second, at about 8 billion gallons from sugarcane. The European Union produces about 1.5 billion gallons from wheat, sugar beet and corn. India is catching up through a fast-growing blending programme of about 1 billion gallons, mostly from molasses. Other producers, including Canada, China, Thailand and Argentina, together account for about half a billion gallons. The data are tracked by the Renewable Fuels Association and USDA Bioenergy Statistics.
Why do brokers not offer ethanol CFDs? +
Liquidity in the EH (Denatured Fuel Ethanol) futures contract listed on CBOT is low compared with other energy commodities such as WTI crude and Henry Hub natural gas. Daily turnover is typically limited to a few hundred contracts. Retail CFD brokers such as XTB, eToro and Plus500 therefore do not list it as a standalone product, as low liquidity would imply wide spreads and slippage. Investors instead gain exposure to ethanol-market moves through ethanol producer shares, such as Green Plains, Valero, ADM and Cosan, or indirectly through corn or sugar CFDs.
How are gains on ethanol-related shares taxed? +
Tax treatment varies by jurisdiction; consult a local tax adviser.

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Data sources: EIA — Monthly Energy Review (Renewable Energy) · Renewable Fuels Association — Industry Statistics · UNICA — União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar (Brazil) · USDA — Bioenergy Statistics