FACTS
Heating oil prices for U.S. homes averaged $5.915 a gallon in the week of Nov. 9, 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is about 59% higher than the $3.721 average for the same week last year, EIA data show. CNBC reported the increase on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Heating oil prices by region
The EIA publishes weekly residential heating oil prices during the heating season. For the week of Nov. 9, its survey showed these averages per gallon:
- East Coast: $5.922
- New England: $5.845
- Central Atlantic: $6.002
- Midwest: $5.750
Among the states the EIA reports, New York averaged $6.142, Massachusetts $5.962, Maine $5.833 and Pennsylvania $5.708.
Prices have eased slightly from October. The national average was $6.050, $6.138 and $6.190 in three October weeks, according to the EIA’s weekly price history.
Residential propane averaged $2.826 a gallon nationally in the same week, the EIA reported.
Who is affected
About 3% of U.S. households heat mainly with heating oil, most of them in the Northeast, according to the EIA’s winter fuels outlook released Oct. 6. The agency projected that those homes would pay about 21% more for the fuel this winter than last. It forecast a heating oil price increase of more than 30%, partly offset by milder weather expected in the Northeast.
The EIA said tight supplies of distillate fuel, which includes heating oil and diesel, are behind the increase. East Coast distillate inventories were 32% below their five-year seasonal average in September and were forecast to stay 20% to 30% below average through the winter, the agency reported. Retail diesel averaged $6.29 a gallon in September, according to the outlook.
What the EIA said
“Relatively high natural gas inventories entering the winter season provide a cushion for heating demand, while households that rely on heating oil face higher prices because distillate markets remain tight,” EIA Administrator Tristan Abbey said in the outlook release.
About half of U.S. households heat mainly with natural gas or propane, and the EIA expects them to spend less this winter than last. Households that heat mainly with electricity are expected to spend more, according to the outlook.
How the figures were calculated
The 59% figure compares the EIA’s national residential average for the week of Nov. 9, 2026, with the week of Nov. 10, 2025. CNBC reported the same increase. The EIA’s weekly figures are averages from its survey of heating oil dealers.
More coverage is in the Stay Current News Money section.
Photo: File photo of a heating oil delivery truck in Arlington, Massachusetts. Daderot / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
