EIA expects a sharp rise in U.S. winter heating bills

The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday forecast that U.S. households that primarily use natural gas to heat their homes will likely spend an average of $931 this winter, which runs from October to March, up 28% from the amount they spent last winter. Natural-gas futures trade around 76% higher year to date, FactSet data show. The increase in natural gas expenditures is due to both higher expected prices and consumption, the EIA said in its Winter Fuels Outlook report. Households that primarily use heating oil, common in the Northeast, will spend an average $2,354, up 27% from last winter, the EIA said. Households that primarily use electricity to heat their homes, many of which are in the South, will spend an average $1,359 this winter on electricity bills, up 10% from last winter, the EIA said. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November natural gas NGX22, -1.49% traded at $6.546 per million British thermal units, down 5 cents, or 0.8%, in Wednesday dealings.