http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html
Highlights
- EIA projects average household expenditures for space-heating fuels will total $986 this winter (October 1 to March 31), an increase of $24, or 2.5 percent, from last winter. EIA projects higher expenditures in all fuels except electricity, where expenditures decline by 2 percent. This forecast reflects moderately higher prices for all the fuels, although slightly milder weather than last winter for much of the Nation should contribute to lower consumption in many areas.
- According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) most recent projection of heating degree-days, the lower-48 states are forecast to be 3 percent warmer during the October through March winter heating season compared with last winter and 1 percent warmer than the 30-year average (1971-2000). However, heating degree-day projections vary widely between regions. For example, the Northeast, the principal market for heating oil, is projected to be about 5 percent colder than last winter, while the South is projected to be about 15 percent warmer.
- EIA expects the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to average about $80 per barrel this winter, a $2.50-per-barrel increase over last winter. The forecast for average WTI prices rises gradually to $85 per barrel by the fourth quarter of 2011 as
- Projected natural gas inventories reach more than 3.7 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) at the end of this year’s injection season (October 31). This projected volume will be about 3 percent lower than last year’s record-setting level but will still represent the second highest underground storage level on record for the month of October. The projected Henry Hub annual average spot price increases from $3.95 per million Btu (MMBtu) in 2009 to $4.47 in 2010 and $4.58 in 2011.
