The latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) are bumping up the use of corn for ethanol in the 2011-12 marketing year.

According to the June 12 report, the 50 million bushels adjustment upward to corn usage for 2011/12 reflects the latest ethanol production and trade data. “Weekly ethanol production has increased since mid-April after gradually declining from the record levels of late December,” the report states. “The higher corn use projection assumes slightly lower ethanol production during the June-August quarter as compared with the same period last year.” The total for 2011-2012 now stands at 5.05 billion bushels, higher than the 5.021 of the previous year and the projected 5.0 billion for 2012-13.

The most recent Energy Information Administration data for ethanol production, the week ending June 1, showed an average of 904,000 barrels, or 37.97 million gallons, per day. For the month of May, the four week average for ethanol production was 907,000 barrels per day, which could bring the total for the year very close to 14 billion gallons if that pace continues.