Retail heating fuel costs soar Prices jump 51 percent compared to the same period last year REUTERS WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 — U.S. consumers continue to be hit in the pocketbook from rising heating fuel costs, as the national price for heating oil jumped 1.9 cents a gallon over the last week to a new seasonal high of $1.564, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday.

PRICES SO far this heating season, which runs from October to March, are up 51 percent compared to the same period 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 2.4 cents to $1.574 a gallon, the Energy Department’s statistical agency said in its weekly report on heating fuel costs.

Prices in the Central Atlantic states, the nation’s second largest heating fuel region, rose 1.9 cents $1.615 a gallon. Midwest heating oil prices averaged $1.381 a gallon, up one penny. The Energy Department said earlier in the day that U.S. heating oil inventories reached 48.9 million barrels as of Nov. 24, up 1 million barrels from the previous week, but down 20.2 million barrels from a year ago. The Clinton administration is loaning energy firms 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to boost supplies of heating oil and other refined petroleum products this winter. About 22.3 million barrels of that reserve oil have already been delivered to the companies.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/496178.asp?cp1=1

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 29, 2000