U.S. retail heating oil price at seasonal high-EIA

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U.S. retail heating oil price at seasonal high-EIA November 22, 2000

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) via NewsEdge Corporation -

The average U.S. residential heating oil price soared 3.9 cents a gallon over the last week to $1.545, the highest level so far for the heating season, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday.

Prices so far this heating season, which runs from October to March, are more than 50 percent higher compared to the same time last year, when heating fuel averaged $1.036 a gallon in November.

Retail heating oil prices in New England, the world's largest market for heating fuel, increased 4.3 cents to $1.55 a gallon, the Energy Department's statistical agency said in its weekly report on heating fuel costs.

Low heating oil supplies have kept heating fuel prices high.

Prices in the Central Atlantic states, another big consuming region of heating fuel, jumped 4.5 cents $1.596 a gallon.

The Energy Department said earlier in the day that U.S. heating oil inventories reached 47.9 million barrels as of Nov. 17, up 100,000 barrels from the previous week, but down 21.2 million barrels from a year ago.

The Clinton administration has awarded to energy firms 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to boost supplies of heating oil and other refined petroleum products.

Almost 18 million barrels of that reserve oil have already been delivered to the companies.

^ REUTERS@

http://www.individual.com/story.shtml?story=d1122102.902

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 22, 2000


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