After nearly three months of somewhat stable heating costs, the tab for No. 2 heating oil soared Monday, just as another winter storm took aim at Maine.
A survey taken Monday of heating oil dealers found the price of No. 2 oil – the fuel used to heat about 80 percent of the state’s homes – averaged $1.99 per gallon statewide.
That’s an 8-cent increase from last week’s price and 45 cents higher than the commodity cost a year ago, according to the Maine State Planning Office. The SPO conducts the fuel products survey weekly during the winter heating season.
The price matched the season high set at the end of October. That’s when No. 2 reached $1.99 following a steady run-up in prices. The fuel started off the heating season the first week in October at $1.70 per gallon.
Monday’s price spike follows last week’s rise in the price of crude oil, which closed at $52.10 a 42-gallon barrel Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Heating oil prices in Maine had stabilized earlier this winter in the $1.88 to $1.91 range after crude oil prices retreated from October’s record highs. At one point crude had traded briefly in excess of $55 per barrel.
People living in central and western Maine could buy No. 2 at a slight savings compared with prices found by the SPO in eastern and northern areas.
In eastern Maine, fuel oil was averaging $2.05 per gallon. In northern Maine, it averaged $2 per gallon. Central Maine prices were $1.97, with a high of $2.05 and a low of $1.90. In western Maine, the average was $1.98 with a high of $2.17 and a low of $1.84 also counted.
Kerosene prices were higher, averaging $2.26, a 7-cent jump from a week ago and 45 cents higher than the product was being sold for last year at this time.
Propane rose a penny on the week, to $2 per gallon. That’s 25 cents more than the fuel cost on average at this time last year.
The SPO said heating oil supplies appear adequate to meet demand. That should help to keep prices in check. The agency noted the winter season is waning, with only a few weeks of very cold temps left to cause a surge in demand.
On Monday, the National Weather Service was forecasting a snowstorm expected to dump 8 to 14 inches on central and western Maine with northeast winds. Temperatures were expected to settle into the 20s.
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