Should I be concerned about the future?

Like you, we would like nothing better than to see oil prices stabilize. But while prices may seem high now, they are much lower than this period two years ago. Prices are just following a natural trend of ups and downs as a result of market conditions, which affect other heating fuels too.

I don’t understand why my fuel bills are so high?

Cost of the raw product has gone up.
Crude oil accounts for 50%–80% of the wholesale cost of a gallon of heating oil. When crude prices rise, this affects everything from heating oil to gasoline—even natural gas. And as of this writing, crude oil prices had more than doubled over the past year.

Demand is high.
Extreme weather in parts of the U.S., Europe and Asia has fueled a big increase in the demand for oil, contributing to the recent jump in prices.

Speculation is still a problem.
While the federal government has targeted rampant commodity speculation, new regulations have not yet been implemented, so oil prices are still vulnerable to this influence.