HOULTON — The State Planning Office released new figures last week that showed despite the fact that the average price of home heating oil has continued to rise in Maine, it is still cheaper in Aroostook County.

As of Jan. 17, the statewide average for oil was 94 cents a gallon. The average price in Aroostook County, according to the state was 91 cents a gallon.

The region also had the widest price disparity of all of the five regions surveyed by the state. Aroostook prices ranged from a high of 97 cents a gallon to a low of 86 cents, which also was the lowest price found in any of the regions surveyed.

The highest average price was 95 cents being paid in the eastern sections of the state, with some people in that area paying as much as $1 a gallon. Prices in the southwest, central and western parts of the state were the same as the state average.

Last year at this time, the average price of oil in Maine was 78 cents a gallon, but temperatures were generally higher. This year, a steadily increasing statewide average price has been the trend for about two months.

The SPO indicates that the steady price rise is due primarily to early and harsh winter weather, dwindling northeast inventories, and rising prices overall in all regions.