Heating oil hits US high

3 October 2007

The price of heating oil has reportedly reached a record high in some areas of the US.

Crude oil has increased in price by more than $20 (£9.80) a barrel during the course of 2007, breaking its record high on several occasions.

The cost of home heating oil seems to be following suit and a new dealer survey by the Maine Office of Energy Independence and Security has revealed the average cash price in the state is now $2.69 a gallon.

In a similar survey 12 months ago the price was $2.25, while in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in October 2005 it was $2.56, reports the Waldo County Citizen.

And with the peak demand of the winter months approaching there is still potential for further price increases.

Neil Gamson, an economist with the US Energy Information Administration, told the Portland Press Herald: "We're projecting more expensive heating oil."

A recent report by the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association in the US predicted that an average household using heating oil will find that their heating bill is 28 per cent higher this winter than last.