AUGUSTA – The average price of a gallon of home heating oil in Maine jumped 5 cents this week to $1.45, the State Planning Office reported Tuesday.

That is 34 cents more than a year ago and represents more than a 20 percent increase since the current heating season began Oct. 1.

Prices across the state ranged from a low of $1.35 a gallon in some parts of southwestern Maine to as much as $1.51 in some western sections.

Kerosene prices also jumped 5 cents to an average of $1.68 a gallon, while propane dropped 1 cent to $1.61.

The continued rapid increase in oil and kerosene prices has been tied to protracted cold weather in parts of the country that use oil as a heating fuel, as well as the strike by oil workers in Venezuela and prospect of war with Iraq.