Natural Gas Futures Slip on Mild Weather Forecasts
Wholesale prices increased this week as storage inventories were refilled more slowly than in recent years. (image: eia.doe.gov)
Natural gas futures fell mid-week as warm, mild weather forecasts indicated a decrease in demand, since consumers won’t need much fuel for heating or cooling purposes, the Wall Street Journal reported. Natural gas for June delivery finished 9.3 cents lower on the NYMEX, at $4.577 a million British thermal units.
Chilly weather late last week gave gas futures a boost, but because temperatures are slowly climbing nationwide, we likely won’t see “a consistent cooling or heating need in the next few weeks,” one analyst remarked. The decline is a consistent trend for this time of year.
In Chicago, market strategist Sean Baker commented that gas “is running out of steam up here,” and predicted that gains higher than $5/MMBtu will be very rare during the summer, unless demand spikes for some reason. The Energy Information Administration reported that storage inventories are still below the 5-year average, with far fewer domestic rotary drilling rigs in operation as well. Natural gas users in the Northeast felt the most significant price increases.
*Natural gas is the most widely used heating fuel in the United States.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Divvies Out $311 Million in LIHEAP Funds
President Obama with Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. (image: city-data.com)
The Department of Health and Human Services released an additional $311 million in energy assistance to low-income households yesterday, recognizing a continued need for aid even as the heating season comes to a close, the Business Wire reported.
“Many families are burdened with making difficult financial decisions when it comes to their home energy needs,” said Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who made the announcement. “The release of these funds will help those low-income individuals and families pay their energy bills., reduce high energy costs and get the basic essentials they need to sustain a healthy and quality standard of living.”
Energy assistance advocates recently wrote to President Obama requesting help in the country’s continuing struggle with fuel poverty. House Republicans unveiled their national budget plan, which includes an 8% cut to LIHEAP, but some lawmakers have proposed much deeper cuts and others have opposed trimming the program’s current $5.1 billion budget at all. As the Democrats and Republicans debate the national budget, LIHEAP’s future remains unclear. However, funds are currently still available, and state officials have encouraged residents behind on their bills to take advantage of the program while they can.
“Countless families across the country continue to endure tough economic conditions,” said David Hansell, the HHS acting assistant secretary for children and families. “These additional LIHIEAP funds will provide assistance to individuals who face the troubles of paying their electric, natural gas, or other energy bills while meeting other essential household expenses.”
So far this fiscal year, over $4.2 billion worth of LIHEAP funds have been dispensed to the states. To see a state by state breakdown of the new allocations, check the Administration for Children and Families website.
Heat USA Director Makes TV Debut on MLB Network!
Check out that sweet Heat USA jacket! (image: MLB Network)
Heat USA Director Mark Kohan and son Ben, 6, made an exciting television appearance last week on an MLB Network special on baseball cards. “Cardboard Treasure” detailed highlights of the baseball card industry’s 60 year history, from how they were first created as a marketing scheme to sell everything from gum to gasoline, to how today’s top players felt when they first saw their own face on a card.
Kohan, a lifelong New York Mets fan, has been collecting baseball cards since he was Ben’s age and now owns about 300,000 of them! Besides being a fun hobby, collecting cards has taught Kohan some valuable life skills he intends to pass on to his sons.
“Baseball cards allowed me to read earlier and better than my friends. They also made me very comfortable learning about numbers and statistics, which has undoubtedly helped me in the heating oil industry since I deal with fluctuating numbers every day,” he said. “The ever-changing oil prices are a bit like the back of a baseball card.”
“Cardboard Treasure” will air again on April 22 on the MLB Network at 1:00pm. Here’s a short preview – don’t blink and you’ll see Mark at the very beginning!
As LIHEAP Cuts Loom, Record Number of Iowans Behind on Heating Bills
Collectively, Iowans owe utility companies $35 million so far this heating season. (image: realbollywood.com)
Iowa state utility companies released statistics revealing that an all time record number of households are behind on their heating bills, The Gazette reported last week.
According to the Iowa Bureau of Energy Assistance, 267,710 Iowans failed to pay their bill on time in January, which is a 10% increase from last year. Cumulatively, the utility companies are owed more than $35 million. And, industry experts expect that number to rise substantially before the cold weather ends – Iowa has a moratorium forbidding utility companies from shutting off power to residents qualified to receive heating assistance from November 1 to April 1.
However, residents who don’t qualify for heating assistance aren’t protected by the moratorium and are at risk of having their heat disconnected. Iowa’s LIHEAP director Jerry McKim told Radio Iowa that when heats starts getting shut off during the winter months, the situations changes from “an energy issue” to a “public health matter.”
McKim believes one reason for people being unable to pay their heating bills could be that they either aren’t eligible for LIHEAP or they failed to sign up. However, even those qualified for LIHEAP are having trouble paying their heating bills, and are racking up potentially insurmountable debt.
Disabled LIHEAP client June Dillon of Cedar Rapids says she made a serious effort to keep her thermostat down, but still estimates she’ll owe between $600 and $700 by the time the heating season is over. She already spent her $450 share of LIHEAP aid to pay fuel bills, and during this harsh and volatile winter, she isn’t the only one. Despite a record number of Americans applying for heating assistance this year, the federal government is still considering making huge budget cuts to the LIHEAP program.
“I’ve sent them [the utility company] what I can every month…but you’ve got to play catch-up whatever you do,” Dillon told The Gazette.
LIHEAP Dishes Extra $200 Million in Emergency Heating Aid
New York received $26 million in additional home heating aid from the Dept. of Health and Human Services. (image: homeenergyaffordabilitygap.com)
The federal department of Health and Human Services divvied out $200 million in emergency home heating aid funding to states earlier this week, the Associated Press reports.
The emergency funding, which is being distributed through LIHEAP, comes as a response to concern about bitter winter temperatures and the rising costs of heating fuel. LIHEAP, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, was created to help qualified families with their home heating, cooling and energy costs. They also offer services to aid home weatherization projects that keep homes warmer and heating costs lower. The program focuses on assisting families with children, the disabled, and senior citizens on fixed incomes.
“During the cold winter months, heating your home becomes more than a matter of comfort,” said Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. “The release of these emergency funds will help low-income families and individuals afford the high energy costs rather than force them to make cutbacks on other essentials.”
LIHEAP provides heating assistance to the disabled, families with children, and senior citizens on fixed incomes. (image: cardi.ie)
The U.S. Senate approved the motion to dispense the extra emergency funds at the end of last year. Since October 1, 2010, LIHEAP has provided over $3.9 billion in aid for the states.
Vermont, which had faced a 40% cut in assistance from LIHEAP, is anticipated to receive enough additional funding to help approximately 27,000 families.
New York was granted the most aid at $26 million, bringing the state’s total heating aid received to almost $500 million in this year alone. Connecticut was also allocated one of the larger pieces of the pie, a move praised by its leaders and lawmakers.
“This funding is coming at a critical time, on the heels of a record-breaking storm and dropping temperatures,” Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy stated in an Easton Courier report. “We must continue to work to secure additional funding to make sure we can assist an increased demand and that families are protected from the cold,” Malloy said.
A state-by-state distribution breakdown of the $200 million, as well as each state’s total allocated funds from LIHEAP for this fiscal year so far, is available on the Administration for Children & Families section of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website.
API Inventory Report Drives Up Oil Prices
At 9:30 am EST, the price of crude had risen 1.8 percent to $75.28 a barrel and the price of heating oil had climbed 1.4 percent.
HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: Up $0.01
Morning projection (for Wednesday’s average price per gallon): Up $0.04
The American Petroleum Institute’s oil inventory report, released yesterday afternoon, drove up crude and heating oil prices on Tuesday with news of significant drawdowns in US crude and distillate stockpiles. A Reuters poll found that analysts had predicted a 900,000-barrel drop in crude inventories, well below the 3.7 million-barrel decline reported by API. Distillate inventories, on the other hand, fell much less than expected–analysts forecast a drop of 1.9 million barrels as a result of high heating oil demand stemming below-average temperatures in the Northeast (the world’s largest heating oil market)–but the API reported a drop of just 745,000 barrels of distillate fuel. The limited decline in distillate stocks helped prevent major increases in heating oil prices.
HEAT USA price experts expect larger gains for crude and heating oil prices on NYMEX today following the release of the EIA’s weekly inventory data at 10:30 am Eastern Time. The consider a midday heating oil retail price change to be likely.
Oil Prices Rise Slightly as Data Indicate Economic Recovery
At 9:28 am EDT, the price of crude had risen 0.14 percent to reach $72.61 a barrel and the price of heating oil inched up .2 percent.
HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: Up $0.02
Morning projection (for Monday’s average price per gallon): Down $0.02
Crude prices continue to rise despite a climbing dollar and yesterday’s slide in stock prices. Equities markets have been looked to as a leading economic indicator of recovery, but positive economic data earlier in the week have spurred hopes of a global revival and an increase in the demand for oil. If stock prices recover and projections for the global economy remain positive, oil prices could continue to rise in the coming weeks.
HEAT USA price experts reported that oil prices have turned around on news of global economic recovery but expect fundamentals to exert their influence by Monday.
Oil Prices Up on Weak Dollar, Stock Markets Gains
At 10:00 am EDT, the price of crude had climbed 0.5 percent to reach $72.96 a barrel and the price of heating oil had risen by 1.4 percent.
HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: UP $0.05
Morning projection (for Friday’s average price per gallon): DOWN $0.01
Crude and heating oil posted moderate gains this morning as a surging European stock market provided optimism and a weak dollar made oil a more attractive buy. Today’s oil prices show the continuation of the recent up-and-and-down cycle in which positive economic news temporarily lifts prices and a bleak demand picture brings them back down. Under these conditions, the price of crude has stayed between $65 and $75 a barrel over the last six weeks.
HEAT USA price experts reported that oil’s gains yesterday on NYMEX led to a moderate increase in retail heating oil prices this morning. They predicted that persistently weak demand would lead to gradual price decreases over the next few days.
Oil Prices Sink as Big Inventories Weigh Heavy Again
At 8:55 am EDT, the price of crude had fallen by 0.4 percent to $71.63 a barrel and the price of heating oil had lost 0.6 percent.
HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: DOWN $0.01
Morning projection (for Monday’s price per gallon): DOWN $0.02
Oil prices dipped this morning after three straight days of gains as swollen inventories around the world once again led investors to question whether the current supply and demand picture justifies recent prices. The IEA’s announcement of expectations for steadily increasing global demand over the next 15 months continued to support prices, as did a weak US dollar, but neither factors could overcome the influence of the current high supply, low demand environment. Today’s lower prices mark the latest turn in a cycle of rising and falling prices that are alternately lifted in the short term by positive economic news and driven down by a bleak long-term supply and demand outlook.
HEAT USA price experts reported that yesterday’s relatively flat trading of crude and heating oil led to a small decrease in today’s retail heating oil prices, and predicted another small decrease for Monday.
Oil Prices Dip as OPEC Holds Outputs Steady
At 9:49 am EDT, the price of crude had lost 0.2 percent to fall to $71.20 a barrel and the price of heating oil had fallen by 0.9 percent.
HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: UP $0.02
Morning projection (for Friday’s price per gallon): UP $0.03
Crude and heating oil prices rose in early trading this morning, but quickly retreated around 9:30 am EDT. Gains had come from a new oil demand forecast from the International Energy Agency that predicted demand for crude would begin to recover at the end of this year and return to year-over-year growth by 2010. Predictably, OPEC chose to keep output levels steady at their meeting in Vienna yesterday, and devoted most of the meeting to emphasizing compliance with current output quotas. Additional support for oil prices came from API data on US petroleum inventories released yesterday afternoon. The API report showed a big drawdown of US crude inventories—7.2 million barrels. Energy Information Administration, to be released this morning, will support or refute the API report.
HEAT USA price experts reported a small gain in retail prices today following yesterday’s oil price gains on NYMEX. They emphasized that EIA inventory data will determine the direction of prices tomorrow.
