Heating oil is cheap! Will it last?

Savings

Fun fact – crude oil is now cheaper than the cost of the steel barrel used to store it.

The cost of Maryland home heating oil and gasoline is low. The reason oil is cheap is that both have fallen along with crude oil prices. Although the price of a barrel of crude oil hasn’t yet reached its all-time low of $12.45 (adjusted for inflation) from December 1998, it could get there soon if the same rapid downward trend persists. Crude oil prices have fallen $10 per gallon from last month’s cost, that’s a 30% drop.

So what caused this sharp drop in crude oil prices? We all know that the main driver of crude oil prices is world-wide demand and global events. And any uncertainty within those complex scenarios will cause price volatility. Whether it’s the pace of the economy, trouble around the globe, extreme weather, or all of the above, oil prices usually take a hit. Other factors can come into play as well. Here’s what the reputable Oil-Price.com website had to say. Crude oil prices fell on a combination of factors: competitive overproduction outstripping steady global demand and the weakening of OPEC. From a peak of $115 a barrel in August 2014, the oil prices have steadily fallen. Not so good for the oil industry. But very good for those buying home heating oil here in Maryland to fend off those single-digit temperatures.

The New York Times reported that the reasons for the declining cost of crude oil are varied, but contributing factors included more domestic oil production in the United States, increased oil production in other countries, like Canada, and greener cars that use less gas. According to the Times, it’s a classic situation of more supply and less demand.

Of course, that could change on a dime and often does. Colder temperatures will boost home heating oil consumption, for one thing. And who knows what El Nino has in store for the rest of the 2016 heating season, with its moisture-laden air ready to turn into the snow with any drop in temperature. As for the goings-on around the world, they are even more unpredictable!

Predicting the rise and fall of home heating oil prices is like predicting the outcome of the Super Bowl. Sometimes the favored team wins, and sometimes the offense and defense BOTH show up to bring victory to the underdog, like we saw in Super Bowl 50. Think of Tevis Energy as both your offense and defense. And you WIN… with an offense that always shows up and delivers on time while providing some of the lowest heating oil prices we’ve seen in years, and a defense that includes quality fuels and technicians that keep your heating oil system running at peak efficiency!

Tevis Energy is the company thousands of MD and PA homeowners TRUST for home heating oil delivery in Baltimore, Carroll, and Howard Counties, and neighbor communities in Southern Pennsylvania. Locally-owned and always competitively priced, Tevis Energy provides the most reliable heating oil delivery in the Baltimore Maryland region. Tevis Energy’s high-efficiency heating oil and BIOHEAT® renewable heating oil burn even cleaner to give you more heat with less oil, saving as much as 9% on your heating costs!