PORTLAND, Maine — The statewide average cost for a gallon of No. 2 heating oil in Maine rose 19 cents in the past two weeks, to $2.79, but prices remain more than $1 less per gallon than a year ago at this time.
The Governor’s Energy Office reported the latest statewide average prices in its weekly heating fuel price survey released Tuesday. The 19-cent jump in the average cost of home heating oil marked the “first significant price hikes for almost eight months,” according to a release announcing the latest survey.
The rise in the price of home heating fuels mirrors the uptick in gasoline prices after Maine saw at-the-pump pricing fall below $2 per gallon at many stations earlier this month.
The increase in heating oil prices was accompanied by a 17-cent increase in the average cost of a gallon of kerosene, up to $3.31, and a three-cent increase in the average price of a gallon of propane, up to $2.71. That increase follows a historic drop in crude oil prices through the end of 2014, fueled by higher production in the United States and a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries not to cut back on production in response to falling prices.
The price of crude oil remained almost half what it was this time last year, with West Texas Intermediate crude trading at about $50 per barrel and Brent crude trading at about $60 per barrel.
In its latest report, the energy office stated that the heating oil price increase is likely driven by a rally in crude oil prices over the last few weeks. Heating oil prices tend to lag changes in the price of crude oil by about two to three weeks, the latest report said.
Though prices have risen in recent weeks, the energy office cited a Bloomberg News article in stating that there are some forces working against a sustained rise in prices through this year, including a shortage of storage space for the oil produced in the United States.
The price of crude oil is the primary cost-driver for gasoline and heating oil, which is used in more than 60 percent of Maine homes. Gasoline prices also have risen slowly in recent weeks in line with crude oil prices.