For many of us, it is difficult to make sense of the fluctuating prices for different types of fuel, including gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, and home heating oil. Some pricing is mandated by the province and each are determined by a variety of factors, including raw material costs, supply and demand, different levels of taxation, costs of manufacturing, and wholesale and retail margins.
The largest component of these complicated calculations is the price of crude oil. As a worldwide commodity, its cost is based on supply and demand, which can be influenced by many issues that can include natural disasters, extreme weather (cold or heat), political turmoil, war, or market speculators.
If all of this is not confusing enough, some may wonder if there is any relationship between the retail prices of gasoline and the cost of home heating oil. First, a key difference between these prices is that, unlike gasoline, heating oil is unregulated in Nova Scotia. This is good for consumers because it provides a choice between many different suppliers, full-service or discounters.
Another issue is that the demand cycles for the two can be seasonally opposite. For gasoline, this usually means prices at the pump will be lower in the winter when people tend to drive less, and higher in the summer when families are heading off on vacation.
For homeowners that use oil to keep warm, the price for heating oil is normally higher during the coldest months and the lowest in July and August when furnaces aren’t working hard. This can be counterintuitive when it comes to filling tanks.
At Scotia Fuels, we believe the best strategy is to be on auto-delivery which keeps oil tanks filled year-round, averages price over the whole season and takes all the worry out of calculating usage and remembering to order fuel in high demand times.
We hope our blogs continue to be helpful. If you’d like to get more information on pricing or to understand the benefits of becoming a Scotia Fuels customer, we’d love to talk with you. You can reach us at 902-453-2121 or by sending us a note at https://scotiafuels.com/contact-us/.