With winter in full swing, we've been thinking about the cold weather and thus our heating bill. Commodities saw their prices drop in 2015 with a 41% decline in energy. With the warmer weather this holiday season and warmer forecasts thanks to El Niño, heating oil prices will likely continue to drop. We're already seeing lower prices than at this time last year.
We've used data based on the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which publishes price data weekly on home heating oil in 38 states. Unlike natural gas and electricity, home heating oil is provided by independent retailers. The latest price for home heating oil nationwide is $2.11, down a nickel from last week and at its lowest levels since 2009.
EIA's heating oil data is seasonal - from October through March. Here's a look at the series since its inception in 1990.
Here's a closer look since 2000.
EIA breaks the data down into regions and sub-regions. Here we've overlayed the US average with the East Coast and Midwest regions. Notice the US average and East Coast are almost identical.
Another figure EIA tracks is the residential oil supply. The chart below shows the minimal changes in residential heating oil supply since 1990 and that supply does not determine prices in this case.
The next chart shows the New York Harbor (NYMEX:HO) spot prices going back to 1986.
Check back next week for new data.