Ethanol Rises to 11-Week High on European Agreement

Ethanol futures rose to the highest level in 11 weeks in Chicago on optimism Europe’s debt crisis may be alleviated after leaders eased repayment rules for Spanish banks.

Prices capped the biggest monthly gain since October as leaders of the 17 euro countries dropped requirements that taxpayers get preferred creditor status on aid to Spain’s banks, tempering concern that the crisis could spread and sap global fuel demand.

“It’s total widespread commodity buying,” said Terry Reilly, an analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in Chicago. “It’s supported by everything else being up.”

Denatured ethanol for July delivery rose 2.4 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $2.233 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest price since April 12. Futures gained 11 percent this month and are up 1.4 percent this year. They slipped 1.4 percent in the second quarter.

In cash market trading, ethanol on the West Coast surged 4.5 cents to $2.38 a gallon, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In Chicago, the additive increased 3.5 cents to $2.245.

Ethanol in New York added 3 cents to $2.31 a gallon, and, on the U.S. Gulf, the biofuel gained 2.5 cents to $2.32.

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 raw materials, which includes corn, gasoline and crude oil, jumped 5.6 percent to 599.44, the biggest gain since April 2, 2009.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mario Parker in Chicago at mparker22@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net