Heating oil price in the United States has peaked in winter 2022/23 at 4.31 U.S. dollars per gallon and has decreased ever since. Heating oil is a liquid petroleum product that is, among other things, used in residential buildings as a fuel oil in furnaces or boilers. Chemically, most heating oils are similar to motor diesel fuels and are often sold interchangeably. Forecast heating price in the U.S. The average price of heating oil in the United States in the winter of 2024/25 is expected to reach 3.44 U.S. dollars per gallon. Energy prices are projected to see a decrease this winter, because of increased production of heating fuels. The number of heating degree days, which are the days in which the average temperature is below 18 degrees Celsius (65 degrees Fahrenheit), also helps quantify the energy demand required to heat a building. What determines heating oil price? Generally, heating oil prices are collected during the heating season between October and March. In the U.S., the greatest determining factor for heating oil prices is the WTI crude oil price. Consumers can lower heating oil bills by considering when they purchase, reducing consumption, and through government assistance programs.

For the most part, the average price of light heating oil increased steadily since 2022, with a particularly significant price jump recorded in March 2022. As of December 2024, the average consumer price (incl. VAT) for a liter of light heating oil was around 95 euro cents.

As of December 2024, the average consumer price of light heating oil in Germany was around 99.4 euro cents per liter. Prices fluctuated during the specified time period and were noticeably higher in 2022. Like fuel prices, heating oil prices are important cost factors for consumers.

Denmark has one of the highest prices for heating oil in the world. In 2020, Danish households paid over 1,600 U.S. dollars per 1,000 liters of light fuel oil. This was more than double the cost of heating oil for households in neighboring Germany. Germany has some of the lowest light fuel oil prices in the world.

In 2021, heating oil price in Sweden stood at 1,076 euros per thousand liters. In the period of consideration, figures presented a trend of growth, despite some oscillation. Average heating oil price peaked in 2021, and reached the record low at 642.8 euros per thousand liters in 2000.

Average price of heating oil in Great Britain presented a trend of growth, despite some oscillation. Between 2000 and 2020, figures more than doubled, with an increase of 347.6 euros per thousand liters and peaked at 877.5 euros per thousand liters in 2012. By 2020, the average price of heating oil in Great Britain amounted to 698.3 euros per thousand liters.

Average price of heating oil in Italy oscillated over the years. Between 2000 and 2021, figures increased by 291.4 euros per thousand liters and peaked at 1,458.1 euros per thousand liters in 2012. By 2021, the average price of heating oil in Italy decreased to 1,152.6 euros per thousand liters.

The average price of heating oil in France progressed in a volatile manner between the year 2000 and 2016, going from 468.1 euros to 633.6 euros per 1,000 liters. The price reached a peak in 2012, when the French end-consumer had to pay almost 969.9 euros per 1,000 liters of heating oil.

France consumes fewer fossil fuels than Germany

Heating oil is mainly used as a fuel oil for boilers, industrial furnaces or central heating systems. In a survey led by the International Energy Agency in 2016, the residential space heating was responsible for 16 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in France. In Germany, where the average price of heating seems to have progressed in a similar manner as in France, the share of electricity produced from oil, gas and coal sources is much higher than in France. In 2015, 55.06 percent of the electricity produced in Germany came from fossil fuels, while in France this share amounted to 6.04 percent.

The German consumption of fossil fuels should be reduced along with its Carbon dioxide emissions

Germany’s relative dependence on fossil fuels is also reflected in its emissions of carbon dioxide. Alone in 2016, Germany released around 766.6 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. In that same year, France reported 315.3 million metric tons of CO2. Due to Germany’s energy transformation plan (the so-called Energiewende), the government plans the consumption of fossil fuels should be reduced by 60 percent by 2050* in order to reduce sharply the emission generated by this energy source.

This statistic shows the average prices for heating oil in Romania from 2008 to 2021 in euros per thousand liters. It shows that the average price for heating oil was fluctuating, peaking at 1,222.5 euros per one thousand liters in 2013. By 2021, the average price for heating oil dropped to 807.9 euros per one thousand liters.

In 2021, the average price of heating oil in Denmark amounted to 1,361.5 euros per thousand liters. In the period of consideration, figures presented a trend of growth, despite some oscillation. Between 2000 and 2021, figures increased by 661 euros per thousand liters and peaked at 1,788.9 euros per thousand liters in 2007.

In 2021, average price of heating oil in Luxembourg stood at 641.7 euros per thousand liters. In the period of consideration, figures presented a trend of growth, despite some oscillation, peaking at 820.9 euros per thousand liters in 2012.

In 2021, the average price for heating oil reached 1,168.6 euros per thousand liters in the Netherlands. In the period of consideration, the average prices for heating oil in the Netherlands in euros per thousand liters were somewhat volatile from 2000 to 2021. The price peaked in 2021, and reached the record low of 564.2 euros per thousand liters in 2000.

In 2021, the average price of heating oil in Latvia amounted to 712.9 euros per thousand liters. In the period of consideration, figures presented a trend of growth, despite some oscillation, peaking at 1,002.4 euros per thousand liters in 2012.

In 2021, average price of heating oil in Slovenia stood at 944.2 euros per thousand liters. In the period of consideration, figures fluctuated, peaking at 1,018.3 euros per thousand liters in 2012.

In 2021, average price of heating oil in Austria amounted to 681.7 euros per thousand liters. In the period of consideration, figures presented a trend of growth, despite some oscillation. Between 2000 and 2021, figures increased by 231.4 euros per thousand liters and peaked at 1,001.3 euros per thousand liters in 2012.

In 2021, the average price of heating oil in Portugal amounted to 1,156.5 euros per thousand liters. In the period of consideration, figures presented a trend of growth, despite some oscillation. Between 2000 and 2021, heating oil price increased by 822 euros per thousand liters and peaked at 1,295.5 euros per thousand liters in 2012.

Households in Germany paid an average of 733.9 euros per thousand liters of heating oil in 2021. Between 2000 and 2021, heating oil prices in Germany fluctuated, peaking at 938.7 euros per thousand liters in 2012.

Residential heating in Germany

There are approximately 40 million households in Germany, with several heat sources available. As of 2020, heating oil represented a quarter of the household heating source in Germany. Although many of Germany’s homes are heated by oil, these systems can be decades old and are a major source of residential CO2 emissions. As a result, the German government has outlined plans to ban oil-fired heating systems by 2026. Natural gas is the most common household heat source in Germany, providing heat to half of Germany’s homes. Most of the energy consumed in residential buildings in Germany is from space heating, followed by water heating.

Heating in new homes in Germany

Due to the move away from heating oil, modern technologies are now used to heat new homes. In 2020, 35.5 percent of new homes in Germany were heated by electric heat pumps. The number of heat pumps in operation in Germany has been increasing steadily in recent years, and totaled 1.3 million in 2020. This was an increase of more than half a million when compared to 2013.

In 2021, average price of heating oil in Spain stood at 713 euros per thousand liters, up from 575.3 euros per thousand liter in the previous year. During the period of consideration, average price for heating oil was volatile and peaked in 2012, at 951.8 euros per one thousand liters.

The average price for heating oil in Poland was volatile and peaked in 2022. The prices dropped, reaching over 1,000 euros per 1,000 liters in December 2024.

As of 2021, the average price for heating oil in Finland was 0,957 euros per thousand liters. Over the period from 2000 to 2020, the average price for heating oil was volatile and it peaked in 2012 at 1,141.5 Euros per one thousand liters, but decreased again over the following years to 781.8 Euros per one thousand liters in 2016. From 2016 onwards, the average price of heating oil started to increase again.