As (heating) oil prices dip, those who bought it early suffer (Maine)

[jpak]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/061201heatingoil.html

Home heating oil customers who bought into fixed price plans this summer, perhaps unknowingly, were playing the energy futures market.

As of right now, they're seeing the down side of that volatile exchange.

Many people arranged this summer to pay fixed heating oil prices of $2.40 to $2.80 a gallon to guard against soaring costs, said Chris Brown, president of Energy Data Corp. in Portland. But as the heating season kicks into high gear, cash prices in Greater Portland averaged $2.03 a gallon Thursday, according to Brown's Web site, maineoil.com.

"It has been a warm winter so far, so you couple that with lower crude prices and higher inventories and you end up with a price today that's lower than we might have thought," said Jamie Py, president of the Maine Oil Dealers Association.

<more>

[soothsayer]

1. It's winter already?

[YankeyMCC]

2. I'm not in Maine but I got stuck with this too

We locked into what looked at the time like a good price this past summer, not looking so good now.

[One_Life_To_Give]

3. On average you should make out

Pre-buying oil to be delivered at a future date. Such as is described in the article should on average yield lower costs. However there is no guarantee that on any given year the cost will be lower.