AUGUSTA – The State Planning Office reported Tuesday that the average price for a gallon of home heating oil in Maine was two cents a gallon less than one year ago.

The average was $1.18 a gallon, and prices ranged from as low as $1.05 a gallon in southwestern sections of the state to a high of $1.26 in the north.

The average price for a gallon of kerosene was $1.43 a gallon, five cents lower than a year ago. Propane, at $1.48 a gallon, was comparable to last year’s price.

According to Betsy Elder of the State Planning Office, U.S. crude oil inventories are at the low end of the normal range for this time of year.

In her first report for this year’s heating oil season in Maine, which runs through March, Elder said low refinery margins, continuing strong demand for gasoline and low summer production are responsible for the reduced supplies on hand.

The U.S. Energy Department reported this week that increased demand prompted by expected colder weather across the country could push heating-oil prices higher than last winter, when temperatures were unusually mild.

Prices started off last year in Maine at an average of $1.20 a gallon before falling and leveling off in early December to about $1.11 a gallon for much of the remainder of the heating season, according to figures from the SPO.