Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• BRITISH THERMAL UNIT (BTU)
  
  The amount of heat required to increase the temperature of one pound of water one-degree Fahrenheit. A Btu is used as a common measure of heating value for different fuels. Prices of different fuels and their units of measure (dollars per barrel of crude, dollars per ton of coal, cents per gallon of gasoline, dollars per thousand cubic feet of natural gas) can be easily compared when expressed as dollars and cents per million Btus.
  
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