Understanding the Oil and Energy Markets in 2022
You probably know all too well that the price you pay per gallon for heating oil in New Jersey can change from day to day, month to month, and year to year. But it’s been a long time since we have seen such a dramatic rise in heating oil prices, which seemed to happen in a blink of an eye—although prices have been trending upward for quite some time.
The market price of oil is unpredictable because it’s always tied to a variety of factors that are constantly changing, and usually beyond anyone’s control. Those factors include:
- levels of inventory
- global supply and demand
- severe weather
- the state of the economy
- geopolitical events that affect energy production, such as the war in Ukraine.
A Shock to the Market
The impact of the war in Ukraine continues to send shock waves through the world’s energy markets. Natural gas rates have doubled. Electricity costs are surging. Heating oil, diesel fuel and gasoline have all spiked. Propane has risen too, but not by as much.
Possibly the only good news in all of this is that this painful price spike occurred near the end of winter, instead of at the beginning. If you would like to view a long-term history of heating-oil prices in New Jersey, please go here.
How Your New Jersey Heating-Oil Company Can Help
Your full-service heating oil company has perfected many ways to help you cut your heating costs dramatically while increasing your home’s comfort. Consider your New Jersey heating oil company your energy-saving partner, one that takes pride in delivering service with a personal touch.
During the heating season in New Jersey—October 1 to April 1–your full-service heating oil company will always maintain and ensure an ample supply of fuel to make sure you stay warm and safe.
Your local heating-oil company may also be able to make life easier with automatic deliveries of fuel so that you don’t have to worry about calling for deliveries or running out of fuel when you need it the most.
To take away any worries about the normal ebb and flow of oil prices, contact your heating oil company. Many companies offer programs designed to save you money and keep your heating bills manageable—no matter what happens with world oil prices.
Where Do We Go from Here with Oil Prices?
We don’t know where things will go from here, but if history is a guide, we can expect to see prices drop pretty significantly in the not-too-distant future.
During the Great Recession, for instance, crude oil prices dropped from a high of about $134 per barrel in June 2008 all the way to under $40 per barrel by February 2009.
While that may seem like a distant memory to many people by now, most of us clearly remember the shocking fall of crude oil prices during the early days of the pandemic. In the Spring of 2020, when many of us were locked down and cooped up, crude oil prices had fallen all the way to negative $30 per barrel because demand for oil was extremely weak. Traders actually had to pay buyers to take oil! Since then, however, prices have been steadily rising before they exploded in late February 2022, when the war in Ukraine started.
Nothing will make your local New Jersey heating oil company happier than when prices return to normal. Until then, trust your heating oil supplier to look out for you right now, next winter and in the years ahead.