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GREENSBORO - Among the cutbacks and declines that have defined America's finances lately, there is a silver lining.

Economic forces have moved the cost of heating oil in a direction favorable for consumers - down.

"Prices are coming down significantly," said Mike Neal, vice president for sales with Bain Oil Co.

"Right now, we're at $3.49 a gallon," he said. "Seven weeks ago, we were looking at $4.49 a gallon."

Supply and demand explains the price drop for heating oil.

Consider:

• Escalating gas prices earlier this year prompted drivers to decrease their energy consumption, freeing up more oil;
• Heating oil is the same product as the off-road diesel fuel used in the construction industry, Neal said. This year's downturn in the construction industry has kept supply levels higher;
• The projected world demand for oil has dropped from what analysts were expecting three or four months ago, said John Fuquay, co-owner of Berico Fuels.

"We don't like to see the economy like this but we sure do like to see lower prices," Fuquay said.

Yet, while a gallon of heating oil is a dollar cheaper now than earlier this year, it's still up a dollar from the $2.49 it was going for in summer 2007. That fact could still squeeze consumer's pocketbooks.

However, Fuquay is optimistic that prices haven't bottomed out yet. "We've come down over $1 a gallon since July and we think it's going to come off some more," he said.

For natural gas customers, winter heating costs are expected to mirror last year's, unless a colder winter prompts more gas consumption, according to a report released by Piedmont Natural Gas. Last winter was 6 percent warmer than normal, the utility company reported.

Contact Lanita Withers at 373-7071 or lanita.withers@news-record.com