Yahoo Finance Expect 'sticker shock' from home heating costs this winter: Analyst
Households can expect to pay more to heat their homes this winter.
“Natural gas futures (NG=F) prices are more than double what they were one year ago,” according to Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.
The energy analyst notes home heating oil is also higher and the cost of delivering it to the home is going up as well.
“The consumer is going to pay more for their heating bills this winter, whether they use natural gas or home heating oil. Most will have sticker shock," Lipow recently wrote in a note to investors.
The analyst predicts electricity rates will also be going up.
“Combine this bad news with the fact that gasoline prices are still about 80 cents per gallon higher than this time last year does I think [mean] consumer spending will be under pressure,” he added.
The average price of gasoline sits at $3.93 per gallon after reaching an all time high of $5.02 earlier this year.
“While gasoline prices are off the record high set in June, the consumer is paying about $400 per car more for gasoline this year than last. This winter, consumers are going to be paying several hundred dollars more to heat their homes,” said Lipow.
Oil has come down sharply recently, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures closing at their lowest level since January 25th earlier this week. But prices are expected to stay at historically elevated prices according to energy analyst Stewart Glickman of CFRA Research.
“We still think we are in the early stages of a longer-term period where crude oil and natural gas prices remain fairly high by historical standards. In practical terms, this means crude oil likely in a range of $80/b - $100/b (WTI),” said Glickman.
On Thursday, WTI (CL=F) closed at $91.11.
Warm weather out west and Europe's energy crisis continue to impact U.S natural gas which closed at 14- year highs earlier this week. The U.S has been sending liquified natural gas to European countries to make up for disruptions stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ines is a markets reporter covering equities. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
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