For the second straight week, the tab for staying warm in Maine has fallen.

The price of heating oil dropped by four cents a gallon, a statewide survey of dealers found Monday. The State Planning Office calls energy providers once a week during the October-to-March heating season to monitor prices.

This week’s decline mirrored last week’s four-cent drop. Statewide, No. 2 heating oil was retailing Monday for an average of $1.89 per gallon, the SPO found. That’s 52 cents higher than a year ago, but 12 cents lower than the fuel’s price on Nov. 1.

No. 2 opened the season at $1.78 a gallon on Oct. 4. Nearly 80 percent of Maine’s homes are heated by the commodity.

Kerosene prices fell an average of one cent a gallon, to $2.17, according to the SPO survey. It’s 58 cents higher than a year ago.

Propane, meanwhile, rose a penny to average $2.03 per gallon, 39 cents more than a year ago. The price of propane is for gas purchased in bulk and intended for domestic heating applications.

The lower home heating costs reflect global trends in the price of petroleum products. Crude oil closed Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $40.60 per 42-gallon barrel. It had traded at more than $55 a barrel in late October.

Heating and other fuel supplies could tighten again in January, possibly prompting prices to rise. OPEC members meeting in Cairo agreed to reduce production by 1 million barrels a day starting next month. They had boosted production in an effort to rein in runaway crude oil prices.

The SPO said oil market fundamentals remain tight in the United States. It cited continued high demand, low global oil production and refinery output, and diminished spare tanker transport capacity.

As of Dec. 13

Heating oil Statewide Central Western Last year

Average $1.89 $1.89 $1.89 $1.37

High $2.00 $1.99 $1.94 n.a.

Low $1.74 $1.74 $1.82 n.a.

Kerosene $2.17 $2.17 $2.13 $1.59

Propane $2.03 $1.64

(Source: Maine State Planning Office)