Energy Prices

A large bronze ring lettered Federal Reserve Bank San Francisco hangs at the entrance of a vaulted concrete arcade, with overhead cables crossing in front of it.

The Fed Now Counts the AI Buildout as an Inflation Problem. Most Officials Expect Another Rate Rise This Year.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve's September meeting show every participant supported raising rates to a range of 3.75 to 4 per cent, and most expect another increase by the end of the year. Tariffs, the main inflation story of 2025, are fading. Spending on artificial intelligence and energy are taking their place.

By Cory Chamberlain 1 hour ago

A red wooden barn with white-trimmed windows stands in deep snow beside a split-rail fence and bare trees under a grey winter sky in New England.

Money

Filling a Heating-Oil Tank in Massachusetts Costs About $700 More Than Last Year. The State Has Declared an Energy Emergency.

Home heating oil averaged $6.08 a gallon in Massachusetts on 28 September, up 73 per cent from $3.52 a year earlier, and Governor Maura Healey declared a state of energy emergency on Monday. Energy-assistance directors expect households that heat with oil in the Northeast to pay about half as much again as last winter. The wholesale price has more than doubled, so the increase is already in the tank.

By Daniel Okafor October 5, 2026

Tagged stories

The Fed Now Counts the AI Buildout as an Inflation Problem. Most Officials Expect Another Rate Rise This Year.

Filling a Heating-Oil Tank in Massachusetts Costs About $700 More Than Last Year. The State Has Declared an Energy Emergency.