After weeks of steep declines, average heating oil prices in Maine edged up a penny this week to $2.28 a gallon, the state energy office is reporting.

Tensions in the Middle East linked to the fighting between Israel and Hamas and other factors have contributed to a turnaround in crude oil prices, which is being passed on to heating oil and gasoline buyers.

In Maine, heating oil prices range from a low of $1.87 in southern Maine to a high of $2.50 in eastern Maine, the according to the state survey.

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