U.S. ethanol output falls 1.8 pct, supplies rise

* Output falls 1.8 pct to 902,000 bpd

* Stockpiles climb to 21.51 mln bbls

Supplies of U.S. ethanol continued to rise in the last week even though output dropped nearly 2percent, the Energy Information Administration reported on
Thursday.

U.S. ethanol supplies were pegged at 21.51 million barrels, up 110,000 barrels for the week that ended May 25. Production fell 17,000 barrels a day to 902,000 barrels per day, ending a series of four consecutive weekly output gains, according to the
EIA.

Blender demand rose as gasoline demand rose 3 percent week over week, Linn Group analyst Jerrod Kitt said. "This report could very well begin to stoke fears once again of a summer slowdown in the ethanol grind, especially since the inventory situation looks to have finally topped out," said Kitt.

source: reuters