Heating oil down again

20/11/2008

Wholesale heating oil prices have fallen again during trading today (October 20th), data from the New York Mercantile Exchange shows.

During early activity on the bourse this morning, heating oil prices dropped to $1.7743 (£1.17) a gallon, down from an opening cost of $1.7583.

The falls come amid statistics from the US Energy Department showing that demand for derivatives for both domestic and commercial purposes, such as heating oil, DERV and red diesel, has fallen steadily in the last four weeks.

Meanwhile, Reuters notes that heating oil prices in the US have fallen 83 cents since the start of this year's heating season.

"As with gasoline prices, residential heating oil costs are falling because of cheaper crude oil," the agency states.

The Energy Information Administration forecasts that household heating oil costs this year will fall to an average $1,741, down 13 per cent from $1,998 last winter.

It is possible that similar falls will be seen for domestic heating oil customers in the UK.