It doesn’t matter whether you’re walking down the grocery aisle, filling up your tank at the gas station or opening up your electric bill. Everything has gotten more expensive this year.

Americans are facing lingering supply chain issues, 40-year-high inflation, and the economic effects of global conflicts. At Q-Dog, we’re as concerned about price increases as you are. So, we want to discuss the price of propane, what factors affect it, and how we can help you stabilize your propane budget in the coming months.

What’s the cost of propane per gallon?

Like all fuels, propane’s price fluctuates. Nationally, it’s been falling in the $2 to $4 per gallon range recently. For Q-Dog’s customers in Prince Frederick and surrounding counties in Maryland, we post the per-gallon rate on our propane delivery page.

Propane customers can take some comfort that propane’s price is more stable than many other fuels because it is domestically made. For the most part, all the propane you use in Maryland is extracted and produced right here in the U.S. Our country exports more propane than we use.

However, propane is a coproduct of the natural gas and oil refining process. As a result, its price is somewhat tied to those fuels. Because propane and oil are close market competitors, oil prices are generally the best metric to predict how propane’s rate will ebb and flow.

What factors affect the price of propane?

There is a range of reasons that the price of propane would go up or down at any given time. These include the following:

The weather

It stands to reason that when the weather is cold, the price of propane can rise as more people use it to heat their homes. Similarly, a rainy growing season in regions with lots of farms can cause prices to go up. These farms need more fuel for crop drying.

Transportation

If you, like our customers, live in the Eastern U.S., your price for propane is affected by the distance it must travel from its source. Our country’s largest propane storage facilities are located in Texas and Kansas. So, propane already needs to go a long way to reach the East Coast. Icy roads in the winter further increase transportation costs.

International demand

The amount propane costs is affected by its use as a petrochemical feedstock. Petrochemical manufacturers use propane for materials that eventually become plastic, paper, adhesives, detergents and other products. This use of propane continues to grow, and these manufacturers are now the largest consumers of the fuel.

There’s also reason to expect more U.S. propane to go to Europe in the coming months as the E.U. cuts off Russian fuel.

Let Q-Dog help you stabilize your propane expenses

We have a way to make your propane costs more manageable and cut your winter expenses virtually in half. Our Budget Plan allows you to spread your propane expenses over 12 months. You’ll pay the same amount every month, even if you receive two deliveries. There’s no fee to enroll.

To learn more about Q-Dog’s Budget Plan, get in touch with our team.