Have you ever found yourself shocked at the price of heating oil? If so, you may be looking for the best time to purchase it. You might think that buying heating oil in colder months would result in paying higher prices. After all, purchasing an item that is in high demand is often when the price has increased. However, despite the logic of economic supply and demand, heating oil is not always the most expensive in the winter months, nor the cheapest in warm months. It comes down to the cost of oil in a general sense.
When Should I Buy Heating Oil?
Although heating oil is based on the cost of oil in a general sense more so than supply and demand, it is often more expensive in the colder months. Crude oil prices fluctuate, and despite your best intentions to stay up to date on the trends, it can be difficult. Despite this, making an educated guess can be beneficial. Alternately, if you see that the price is lower than general, it can be a good idea to purchase sooner rather than later.
Can I Predict Heating Oil Prices?
Obviously, no one can predict heating oil prices with complete certainty. If you were to monitor crude oil prices over a long period of time, you would likely see that it often decreases in warm months and increases in colder months. There are those outliers that conclude the opposite, however. So, no, you cannot predict heating oil prices, increases, or gains with absolute confidence. On the other hand, you can remain educated about current prices and how they behaved in the past. This is often the best bet for purchasing at the best price.
How to Ensure the Best Pricing
- Monitor several years’ worth of oil costs.
- Watch prices as they change in the coming months.
- Purchase when the price is lower than what you might consider normal.
Tips for Following Oil Prices
How do you follow oil prices? You can monitor nationwide pricing structures, but that might not be relevant to what you’re looking for. Instead, look at the costs of local suppliers that you are likely to buy from. Keep a log of prices on a weekly or monthly basis. You can infer from your personal record how best to proceed in your yearly heating oil purchase.
Get Help with Heating Oil
Heating oil can be an effective way to keep warm but also requires a bit of research and time. If you need a little help with your heating oil needs and knowledge, Interstate Gas & Oil are experts that you can reach out to. Interstate Gas & Oil is available for all of your heating oil questions.
