What Influences Heating Oil Prices?
Date: August 19, 2024
We can stabilize your heating oil budget and reduce your winter bills.
Fall is right around the corner. That means your furnace or boiler is going to come back online soon, and with that, you’ll begin receiving more heating oil deliveries. We recommend customers keep their heating oil tanks filled throughout the summer to minimize condensation. However, if your tank is low, we strongly suggest you arrange a fuel delivery now to get ready for the heating season.
In this article, we want to talk to you about what affects the price of your heating oil and how Cubby Oil & Energy can help you avoid unexpectedly high fuel bills.
Understanding Where Heating Oil Comes From
Generally speaking, heating oil is a distillate of crude oil, similar in composition to diesel fuel. It’s denser than gasoline and will only combust when your heating system’s burner vaporizes it and heats it to an extremely high temperature.
But that is only part of the story for the heating oil Cubby delivers. You see, we only sell Bioheat® fuel, a blend of ultra-low-sulfur heating oil and biodiesel made from organic feedstocks like restaurant grease, animal fats and plant oils. Bioheat fuel has lower greenhouse gas emissions than natural gas, and it also burns cleaner in your heating equipment. This can extend the time between maintenance visits.
Factors Impacting Your Heating Oil Price
Here are a few of the major contributors to price fluctuations for heating oil:
- Global Energy Markets. Crude oil markets impact the price of heating oil. The reasons these markets become volatile extend way beyond the borders of Massachusetts — and even the U.S. In recent years, we’ve seen prices fluctuate because of COVID-related disruptions, supply chain delays, wars and OPEC production cuts. This uncertainty can be worsened by market speculation on Wall Street.
- Increased Regional Demand. Our part of the country comprises about 90% of U.S. heating oil consumption. A heavy blizzard or prolonged cold snap in New England can sharply increase demand and cause prices to spike.
- Production costs. Operational factors like transportation, storage, payroll and distribution can impact heating oil prices. That said, Cubby Oil & Energy works tirelessly to keep our costs low and provide you with the best possible value for our top-quality fuel.
Cubby Oil Offers Unbeatable Pricing and Payment Options.
When it comes to offering you the best and most predictable price for your heating oil, Cubby Oil has service plans to choose from:
- Smart Pay Budget Plan: We will spread the cost of your season’s heating oil over the course of the year. This allows you to pay the same affordable amount each month instead of getting hit with most of our fuel costs in the fall and winter. There is no cost to enroll in Smart Pay!
- Capped Oil Price Program: We’ll set a cap on how much your heating oil will cost per gallon throughout the season. You’ll never pay more than this cap, but you will pay less if the market price drops below the cap amount. There is a fee for this price protection, but you’ll have total peace of mind and may save some money, too!
Are you interested in enrolling in one of our pricing or payment programs? Contact the Cubby team today.
