Cost of US home heating to rise

Heating oil will be the most expensive winter fuel

US consumers will pay on average 10% more to warm their homes this winter than they did last year, according to a government forecast.

Heating oil will be the dearest fuel, with higher crude oil prices raising average costs to $2.88 (£1.41) a gallon from $2.48 (£1.22) last winter.

Households using natural gas will also see a rise of almost 10% in spending.

Higher costs will also come from the predictions that this winter will be colder than last year.

Electricity-users will be least-hit this winter, with their heating bills only expected to rise by an average of 4% for the season, the Energy Information Administration report says.

Predictions of increased demand raised oil prices, with London Brent crude for November delivery settling up $0.91 at $77.46 dollars a barrel.

Traders' attention will now turn to Wednesday's weekly US crude inventories report from the Department of Energy.