AUGUSTA – The price of heating oil continues to fall in Maine.

The statewide average cash price on Monday was $4 a gallon, according to the Office of Energy Independence and Security’s biweekly survey. That’s down 42 cents from two weeks ago and 71 cents from the peak on July 7.

John Kerry, director of the energy office, said Americans could take a lot of credit for the recent drop in oil prices. Crude oil prices on Monday settled below $113 a barrel for the first time in over three months after topping out at $147.27 on July 11.

“They have driven 12.2 billion fewer miles though June of ’08 compared with the same period in ’07,” Kerry said. “This is the first step in changing our fossil fuel-dependent culture into a sustainable energy culture and the only reliable short-term strategy for bringing down petroleum prices.”

But oil prices could rise again because the market dynamics that caused prices to more than double in the past year are still in place, Kerry cautioned.

Southwest Maine had the lowest average price at $3.83 a gallon, according to the survey. Eastern Maine had the highest price at $4.13 a gallon.

The average price stood at $4.01 a gallon in western Maine, $4.03 in central Maine and

$4.11 in the northern part of

the state.

Kerosene was averaging $4.58 a gallon statewide, which was 33 cents cheaper than it was two weeks ago.