Oil prices 44 cents higher than ’06

AUGUSTA – Maine’s first survey of the season indicates heating oil prices are 44 cents higher than last year at this time.

The average statewide cash price was $2.69 on Monday, compared to $2.25 at the same time in 2006, according to the Maine Office of Energy Independence and Security.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says high crude oil prices, lower inventories and an outlook for temperatures to be colder could push prices even higher.

The EIA already has determined that the average price of a gallon of heating oil in the Northeast this quarter will be roughly 30 cents higher than the same period last year: $2.76, compared with $2.47. A detailed forecast will be released next week.

The high price of heating oil this fall led the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, a group of state energy aid officials, to warn last week of record costs for residents this winter.

The association is projecting a 28 percent rise in heating oil prices from last year with prices topping $3 a gallon.

Warm weather and a collapse of crude oil prices could change the outlook, said Neil Gamson, an economist with EIA.

Last year, many Mainers fearful of high prices locked in to fixed-price contracts with their dealers, only to see prices drop.

Oil dealers, like customers, are hoping for an average winter with steady demand and prices that don’t shoot up unexpectedly, said Jamie Py, executive director of the Maine Oil Dealers Association.

“If we could go through the winter without price spikes, that’s what everyone wants to avoid,” he said.