With record setting high temperatures this week in Oklahoma, prices of propane for winter heating purposes aren’t doing much.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that residential heating oil and propane prices started the winter heating season at levels similar to last winter’s levels.
“Inventories of both fuels are near or above five-year highs for this year of year,” stated the EIA. “Based on projections in EIA’s Winter Fuels Outlook, EIA expects households that use heating oil or propane as their primary source of heat to have higher heating costs this winter than last winter but still lower costs than the average of the previous five winters.”
The government agency says the projection is based on expected hikes in residential heating oil and propane prices as well as winter temperatures that are expected to be lower than last year.
Nationally, the natural gas in storage in the Lower 48 States at the end of October reached a record level of 3,986 billion cubic feet (Bcf) which is 183 Bcf more than the five year-end-of-October average from 2011-15.
Cooler weather in the past few weeks has led to a 3% increase in natural gas consumption nationwide.
