U.S. retail heating oil hits record $3.85/gln -EIA

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - The average price U.S. consumers paid for heating oil rose 17.5 cents over the last week to a record $3.85 a gallon, the government said on Wednesday.

The national heating oil price was up $1.36 from a year ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly survey of heating fuel costs around the country.

U.S. fuel dealers asked the Bush administration to release emergency heating oil supplies held by the government to ease prices.

Heating oil prices are rising because of expensive crude oil, which hit a record high of $111.80 a barrel this week. (Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by David Gregorio)