Heating Oil Prices

Refining petroleum or crude oil produces heating oil. Residential use for heating accounts for most heating oil consumption; close to 8 percent of American homes use heating oil.
Like gasoline and diesel prices, heating oil prices depend to a large extent on the supply and price of crude oil. If there is too much crude oil available in the marketplace, oil prices, including heating oil prices, fall. A crude oil supply shortage, alone or combined with increased demand for crude oil products, drives heating oil prices up. Local market factors also affect the price of heating oil. If a heating oil supplier sets its prices too high, consumers may switch to another supplier. Heating oil prices tend to go up seasonally, with prices being highest during the winter. This is because consumption of heating oil rises as it becomes colder. Many oil suppliers offer fixed price schemes to help consumers control the costs of using heating oil. Some consumers try and avoid seasonal increases in heating oil prices by filling their tanks during the summer months, when prices are lower.
This downside is comprised by the various heating oil prices that need to be paid. While many times these heating oil prices are very hard to bear there are compensations to be found.