U.S. dealers urge Bush to release emergency heat oil supply

NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. fuel dealer groups urged President George W. Bush in a letter to immediately order the release of emergency heating oil supplies to help cool sky-high prices for the fuel.

"It is on their behalf we urge you act immediately to release the 1.97 million barrels of that product from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve by utilizing the discretionary authority provided you under 42 USC 6250b(a)(2)," said the letter, which was dated March 18.

The letter was signed by top officials from the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA), the New England Fuel Institute (NEFI) and the New York Oil Heating Association (NYOHA), among others.

Average residential heating oil prices paid by Americans surged more than 40 percent from a year ago, alongside a surge in the price of crude oil to all-time highs and a steep decline in Northeast stockpile levels, according to government data.

Releasing emergency supplies from the U.S. Northeast Heating Oil Reserve would have a short-term effect on lowering record retail heating oil prices, the head of the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday. (Reporting by Haitham Haddadin; Editing by John Picinich)