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United States News Title: Home Heating Costs To Rise Modestly This Winter - EIA NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that many consumers will see their home heating bills rise modestly this winter because of higher fuel prices and colder Northeast weather. Total home heating prices are expected to rise by 2.5%, or $24, to an average of $986 per household, according to the first forecast released for the 2010-11 winter season by the Department of Energy's statistical and analytical arm. "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," except in the Northeast, the EIA said. Temperatures from October through March will be 3% warmer than last year across the lower 48 states, but the Northeast, the core heating oil market, is expected to be 5% colder than last winter, according recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projections. The south, however, could be 15% warmer. Colder weather in the Northeast will drive up consumption and heating oil prices. Residential heating oil prices will average $3.06 a gallon, or 22 cents higher than last winter, and households in the region could see their average costs rise 13% to $259, the EIA said. Northeast consumers represent 80% of the demand for heating oil in the U.S. but just a sliver of overall winter fuel demand in the country. Roughly 52% of the U.S. households rely on natural gas for their primary source of heating fuel and another 37% use electricity. Natural gas prices are expected to average $4.16 per million British Thermal units in the fourth quarter and rise to $4.65 "by January as space-heating demand increases this winter," the EIA said. Prices will largely remain subdued on high production levels and strong inventory builds. U.S. consumers that rely primarily on natural gas to heat their homes will see their costs rise 4% this winter on average, or as much as 6% in the Midwest, where nearly three-quarters of the households use this fuel. Warmer temperatures in the Midwest compared to last year will likely subdue winter demand. About 6% of U.S. households are heated with propane and the supply of this fuel in the northeast is the "most significant concern" for the winter fuels outlook because a pipeline remains shut after a leak was found in August, the EIA said. The bulk of propane in the region is imported but shipping delays or a cold snap could cause propane prices to spike given the "relatively low level of inventory." Bucking the trend of higher costs, households heated primarily by electricity, which are located mostly in southern states, will spend 2%, or $18, less this winter as the steeper drop in electricity demand offsets the rise in prices.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
I'll take that bet.
Obama's first all-by-his-lonesome budget, btw, calls for a $1.17 trillion deficit.
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