Thursday, August 7, 2008

EPA rejects request to waive renewable fuels standard (ADM; AVR; PEIX; VSE)

You can see the news anywhere but I chose TheHill.com because, like so much in climate/energy, the issue is political not scientific.
From TheHill.com:

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) praised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday after it denied the first request received by the agency to reduce the nationwide Renewable Fuels Standard (RSF) since the standards first became law in 2005.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for clean energy, rural America and national security, and a blow to those who have used ethanol as a scapegoat for rising fuel and food prices,” Grassley said. “The bottom line is that ethanol is extending our fuel supply and actually lowering gas prices.”>>>MORE

Among the ethanol producers:

ADM $26.22 -$1.14 (-4.1%)

AVR $6.78 -$0.22 (-3.1%)

PEIX $2.20 +$0.32 (+17%)

VSE $6.55 -$0.29 (-4.2%)

PEIX is reporting second quarter results on Monday.

Corn is up for the first time in six days. From MarketWatch:

Corn rises first day in six; wheat, soybeans rallies
Corn futures gained Thursday for the first time in six sessions on speculation that corn's recent slump was overdone and it may create some buying opportunities. Wheat rallied more than 6%, and soybeans also gained.
Corn for December delivery rose 13.75 cents, or 2.6%, to $5.42 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Corn had slumped 15% in the past five sessions. It closed at $5.28 a bushel Wednesday, the lowest since March 21....MORE