With heating and energy on everyone’s mind, you undoubtedly know
that, if you use oil to heat your business premises, you can save
substantial money depending upon what season of the year you choose
to initially fill your tanks. The price of heating oil varies
seasonally due to changes in supply and demand. Of course, other real
factors (such as crude oil supply disruptions, refinery downtime, quantity
of heating oil versus gasoline and diesel fuel being refined) and
perceptions (such as the fear in early 2003 that war with Iraq would cut
off the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf) influence prices. Fill your
tanks during the “off” season to save some cash.
Other commodities such as gasoline, diesel fuel and natural gas behave in a
manner similar to heating oil. You may be able to negotiate long-term
contracts for these consumables at reduced rates, especially when taking
advantage of seasonality and long-term market trends.
Fuel prices have both direct and indirect consequences for businesses of
all sizes. Directly, fuel prices most noticeably impact
businesses’ heating and cooling costs and fleet (vehicle) fueling.
Manufacturers can be severely affected by fuel price fluctuations because
they may rely heavily upon fuel oil or natural gas to fire boilers and
furnaces. Indirectly, all businesses are affected by surcharges added to
electric rates, shipping rates and commercial air fares.
We have included current one-year spot price charts for crude oil, unleaded
gasoline, heating oil and natural gas courtesy of WTRG Economics so you
can observe the price fluctuations these products undergo. Remember
that the prices you see here are raw; they do not
include taxes, transport and other fuel charges.
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