seasonality the retail propane and fuel oil distribution businesses , as well as the natural gas marketing business , are seasonal because these fuels are primarily used for heating in residential and commercial buildings . historically , approximately two‑thirds of our retail propane volume is sold during the six-month peak heating season from october through march . the fuel oil business tends to experience greater seasonality given its more limited use for space heating and approximately three-fourths of our fuel oil volumes are sold between october and march . consequently , sales and operating profits are concentrated in our first and second fiscal quarters . cash flows from operations , therefore , are greatest during the second and third fiscal quarters when customers pay for product 27 purchased during the winter heating season . we expect lower operating profits and either net losses or lower net income during the period from april through september ( our third and fourth fiscal quarters ) . to the extent necessary , we will reserve cash from the second and third quarters for distribution to holders of our common units in the fourth quarter and the following fiscal year first quarter . cares act on march 27 , 2020 , congress passed and the president of the united states signed into law the coronavirus aid , relief , and economic security act ( the “ cares act ” ) to provide emergency economic assistance to those affected by covid-19 . we are taking advantage of certain of the benefits offered under the cares act , including but not necessarily limited to : deferral of our contribution of the employer portion of the social security payroll tax that is otherwise due with respect to wages accrued between march 27 , 2020 and december 31 , 2020 ; and deferral until january 1 , 2021 , of any , or a portion of , minimum required contributions to our defined benefit pension plan that would otherwise be due during calendar year 2020. weather weather conditions have a significant impact on the demand for our products , in particular propane , fuel oil and natural gas , for both heating and agricultural purposes . many of our customers rely heavily on propane , fuel oil or natural gas as a heating source . accordingly , the volume sold is directly affected by the severity of the winter weather in our service areas , which can vary substantially from year to year . in any given area , sustained warmer than normal temperatures will tend to result in reduced propane , fuel oil and natural gas consumption , while sustained colder than normal temperatures will tend to result in greater consumption . hedging and risk management activities we engage in hedging and risk management activities to reduce the effect of price volatility on our product costs and to ensure the availability of product during periods of short supply . we enter into propane forward , options and swap agreements with third parties , and use futures and options contracts traded on the new york mercantile exchange ( “ nymex ” ) to purchase and sell propane , fuel oil , crude oil and natural gas at fixed prices in the future . the majority of the futures , forward and options agreements are used to hedge price risk associated with propane and fuel oil physical inventory , as well as , in certain instances , forecasted purchases of propane or fuel oil . in addition , we sell propane and fuel oil to customers at fixed prices , and enter into derivative instruments to hedge a portion of our exposure to fluctuations in commodity prices as a result of selling the fixed price contracts . forward contracts are generally settled physically at the expiration of the contract whereas futures , options and swap contracts are generally settled at the expiration of the contract through a net settlement mechanism . although we use derivative instruments to reduce the effect of price volatility associated with priced physical inventory and forecasted transactions , we do not use derivative instruments for speculative trading purposes . risk management activities are monitored by an internal commodity risk management committee , made up of six members of management and reporting to our audit committee , through enforcement of our hedging and risk management policy . critical accounting policies and estimates our significant accounting policies are summarized in note 2—summary of significant accounting policies included within the notes to consolidated financial statements section elsewhere in this annual report . certain amounts included in or affecting our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures must be estimated , requiring management to make certain assumptions with respect to values or conditions that can not be known with certainty at the time the financial statements are prepared . the preparation of financial statements in conformity with us gaap requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period . we are also subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from estimated results . estimates are used when accounting for depreciation and amortization of long-lived assets , employee benefit plans , self-insurance and litigation reserves , environmental reserves , allowances for doubtful accounts , asset valuation assessments and valuation of derivative instruments . we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances , the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources . story_separator_special_tag revenues in our natural gas and electricity segment decreased $ 14.0 million , or 31.0 % , to $ 31.2 million in fiscal 2020 compared to $ 45.2 million in the prior year mainly due to a reduction to the customer base resulting from actions taken by the new york state public utility commission to reregulate this segment of our business ( see item 1 ) , as well as lower usage due to warmer weather . cost of products sold replace_table_token_3_th the cost of products sold reported in the consolidated statements of operations represents the weighted average unit cost of propane , fuel oil and refined fuels , natural gas and electricity sold , including transportation costs to deliver product from our supply points to storage or to our customer service centers . cost of products sold also includes the cost of appliances and related parts sold or installed by our customer service centers computed on a basis that approximates the average cost of the products . given the retail nature of our operations , we maintain a certain level of priced physical inventory to help ensure that our field operations have adequate supply commensurate with the time of year . our strategy has been , and will continue to be , to keep our physical inventory priced relatively close to market for our field operations . consistent with past practices , we principally utilize futures and or options contracts traded on the nymex to mitigate the price risk associated with our priced physical inventory . under this risk management strategy , realized gains or losses on futures or options contracts , which are reported in cost of products sold , will typically offset losses or gains on the physical inventory once the product is sold ( which may or may not occur in the same accounting period ) . we do not use futures or options contracts , or other derivative instruments , for speculative trading purposes . unrealized non-cash gains or losses from changes in the fair value of derivative instruments that are not designated as cash flow hedges are recorded within cost of products sold . cost of products sold excludes depreciation and amortization ; these amounts are reported separately within the consolidated statements of operations . from a commodity perspective , wholesale propane prices trended lower during the first half of the fiscal year and then stayed fairly range bound in the $ 0.45 to $ 0.55 per gallon range , basis mont belvieu , texas . as of september 2020 , propane inventory levels in the united states were 6 % higher than at september 2019 and 13 % above the 5-year average for september , as strong u.s. production outpaced domestic demand and exports . overall , average posted propane prices ( basis mont belvieu , texas ) and fuel oil prices during fiscal 2020 were approximately 28.0 % lower than the prior year . the net change in the fair value of derivative 32 instruments during the fiscal year resulted in unrealized non-cash losses of $ 0.4 million and $ 8.0 million reported in cost of products sold in fiscal 20 20 and 201 9 , respectively , resulting in a year-over-year de crease of $ 7.6 million in cost of products sold , all of which was reported in the propane segment . cost of products sold associated with the distribution of propane and related activities of $ 305.8 million for fiscal 2020 decreased $ 112.5 million , or 26.9 % , compared to the prior year , primarily due to lower wholesale costs and lower volumes sold . the decreases in average propane costs and propane volumes sold during fiscal 2020 resulted in decreases in cost of products sold of $ 77.2 million and $ 22.8 million , respectively . cost of products sold from risk management activities decreased $ 4.9 million compared to the prior year , primarily due to a lower notional amount of hedging contracts that were settled physically , as well as the $ 7.6 million difference in mark-to-market adjustments on derivative instruments discussed above . cost of products sold associated with our fuel oil and refined fuels segment of $ 46.3 million for fiscal 2020 decreased $ 16.9 million , or 26.7 % , compared to the prior year , due to lower wholesale costs and lower volumes sold , which resulted in decreases in cost of products sold of $ 8.9 million and $ 8.0 million compared to the prior year , respectively . cost of products sold in our natural gas and electricity segment of $ 17.3 million for fiscal 2020 decreased $ 9.8 million , or 36.1 % , compared to the prior year , primarily due to lower usage . total cost of products sold as a percent of total revenues decreased 6.6 percentage points to 34.6 % in fiscal 2020 from 41.2 % in the prior year , primarily due to the decline in wholesale costs outpacing the decline in average selling prices on a percentage basis , coupled with the impact of mark-to-mark adjustments on derivative instruments . operating expenses replace_table_token_4_th all costs of operating our retail distribution and appliance sales and service operations are reported within operating expenses in the consolidated statements of operations . these operating expenses include the compensation and benefits of field and direct operating support personnel , costs of operating and maintaining our vehicle fleet , overhead and other costs of our purchasing , training and safety departments and other direct and indirect costs of operating our customer service centers . operating expenses of $ 402.0 million for fiscal 2020 decreased $ 1.0 million , or 0.2 % , compared to $ 403.0 million in the prior year , primarily due to lower payroll and benefit-related costs and lower variable volume-related operating costs , offset to an extent by an increase in accruals for self-insured liabilities and other legal matters and higher vehicle lease

liquidity and capital resources analysis of cash flows operating activities . net cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2020 amounted to $ 209.4 million , a decrease of $ 17.4 million compared to the prior year . the decrease was primarily attributable to lower earnings ( discussed above ) , adjusted for the non-cash items included in net income . investing activities . net cash used in investing activities of $ 53.2 million for fiscal 2020 consisted of capital expenditures of $ 32.5 million ( including $ 19.1 million to support the growth of operations and $ 13.4 million for maintenance expenditures ) , $ 25.6 million used in the acquisition of two retail propane businesses and to purchase a minority stake in oberon fuels , inc. ( see part iv , note 4 of this annual report in relation to these transactions ) , partially offset by $ 4.9 million in net proceeds from the sale of property , plant and equipment . net cash used in investing activities of $ 48.5 million for fiscal 2019 consisted of capital expenditures of $ 35.0 million ( including $ 21.1 million to support the growth of operations and $ 13.9 million for maintenance expenditures ) and $ 19.3 million used in the acquisition of three retail propane businesses ( see part iv , note 4 of this annual report ) , partially offset by $ 5.8 million in net proceeds from the sale of property , plant and equipment . financing activities .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```liquidity and capital resources analysis of cash flows operating activities . net cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2020 amounted to $ 209.4 million , a decrease of $ 17.4 million compared to the prior year . the decrease was primarily attributable to lower earnings ( discussed above ) , adjusted for the non-cash items included in net income . investing activities . net cash used in investing activities of $ 53.2 million for fiscal 2020 consisted of capital expenditures of $ 32.5 million ( including $ 19.1 million to support the growth of operations and $ 13.4 million for maintenance expenditures ) , $ 25.6 million used in the acquisition of two retail propane businesses and to purchase a minority stake in oberon fuels , inc. ( see part iv , note 4 of this annual report in relation to these transactions ) , partially offset by $ 4.9 million in net proceeds from the sale of property , plant and equipment . net cash used in investing activities of $ 48.5 million for fiscal 2019 consisted of capital expenditures of $ 35.0 million ( including $ 21.1 million to support the growth of operations and $ 13.9 million for maintenance expenditures ) and $ 19.3 million used in the acquisition of three retail propane businesses ( see part iv , note 4 of this annual report ) , partially offset by $ 5.8 million in net proceeds from the sale of property , plant and equipment . financing activities .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : seasonality the retail propane and fuel oil distribution businesses , as well as the natural gas marketing business , are seasonal because these fuels are primarily used for heating in residential and commercial buildings . historically , approximately two‑thirds of our retail propane volume is sold during the six-month peak heating season from october through march . the fuel oil business tends to experience greater seasonality given its more limited use for space heating and approximately three-fourths of our fuel oil volumes are sold between october and march . consequently , sales and operating profits are concentrated in our first and second fiscal quarters . cash flows from operations , therefore , are greatest during the second and third fiscal quarters when customers pay for product 27 purchased during the winter heating season . we expect lower operating profits and either net losses or lower net income during the period from april through september ( our third and fourth fiscal quarters ) . to the extent necessary , we will reserve cash from the second and third quarters for distribution to holders of our common units in the fourth quarter and the following fiscal year first quarter . cares act on march 27 , 2020 , congress passed and the president of the united states signed into law the coronavirus aid , relief , and economic security act ( the “ cares act ” ) to provide emergency economic assistance to those affected by covid-19 . we are taking advantage of certain of the benefits offered under the cares act , including but not necessarily limited to : deferral of our contribution of the employer portion of the social security payroll tax that is otherwise due with respect to wages accrued between march 27 , 2020 and december 31 , 2020 ; and deferral until january 1 , 2021 , of any , or a portion of , minimum required contributions to our defined benefit pension plan that would otherwise be due during calendar year 2020. weather weather conditions have a significant impact on the demand for our products , in particular propane , fuel oil and natural gas , for both heating and agricultural purposes . many of our customers rely heavily on propane , fuel oil or natural gas as a heating source . accordingly , the volume sold is directly affected by the severity of the winter weather in our service areas , which can vary substantially from year to year . in any given area , sustained warmer than normal temperatures will tend to result in reduced propane , fuel oil and natural gas consumption , while sustained colder than normal temperatures will tend to result in greater consumption . hedging and risk management activities we engage in hedging and risk management activities to reduce the effect of price volatility on our product costs and to ensure the availability of product during periods of short supply . we enter into propane forward , options and swap agreements with third parties , and use futures and options contracts traded on the new york mercantile exchange ( “ nymex ” ) to purchase and sell propane , fuel oil , crude oil and natural gas at fixed prices in the future . the majority of the futures , forward and options agreements are used to hedge price risk associated with propane and fuel oil physical inventory , as well as , in certain instances , forecasted purchases of propane or fuel oil . in addition , we sell propane and fuel oil to customers at fixed prices , and enter into derivative instruments to hedge a portion of our exposure to fluctuations in commodity prices as a result of selling the fixed price contracts . forward contracts are generally settled physically at the expiration of the contract whereas futures , options and swap contracts are generally settled at the expiration of the contract through a net settlement mechanism . although we use derivative instruments to reduce the effect of price volatility associated with priced physical inventory and forecasted transactions , we do not use derivative instruments for speculative trading purposes . risk management activities are monitored by an internal commodity risk management committee , made up of six members of management and reporting to our audit committee , through enforcement of our hedging and risk management policy . critical accounting policies and estimates our significant accounting policies are summarized in note 2—summary of significant accounting policies included within the notes to consolidated financial statements section elsewhere in this annual report . certain amounts included in or affecting our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures must be estimated , requiring management to make certain assumptions with respect to values or conditions that can not be known with certainty at the time the financial statements are prepared . the preparation of financial statements in conformity with us gaap requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period . we are also subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from estimated results . estimates are used when accounting for depreciation and amortization of long-lived assets , employee benefit plans , self-insurance and litigation reserves , environmental reserves , allowances for doubtful accounts , asset valuation assessments and valuation of derivative instruments . we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances , the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources . story_separator_special_tag revenues in our natural gas and electricity segment decreased $ 14.0 million , or 31.0 % , to $ 31.2 million in fiscal 2020 compared to $ 45.2 million in the prior year mainly due to a reduction to the customer base resulting from actions taken by the new york state public utility commission to reregulate this segment of our business ( see item 1 ) , as well as lower usage due to warmer weather . cost of products sold replace_table_token_3_th the cost of products sold reported in the consolidated statements of operations represents the weighted average unit cost of propane , fuel oil and refined fuels , natural gas and electricity sold , including transportation costs to deliver product from our supply points to storage or to our customer service centers . cost of products sold also includes the cost of appliances and related parts sold or installed by our customer service centers computed on a basis that approximates the average cost of the products . given the retail nature of our operations , we maintain a certain level of priced physical inventory to help ensure that our field operations have adequate supply commensurate with the time of year . our strategy has been , and will continue to be , to keep our physical inventory priced relatively close to market for our field operations . consistent with past practices , we principally utilize futures and or options contracts traded on the nymex to mitigate the price risk associated with our priced physical inventory . under this risk management strategy , realized gains or losses on futures or options contracts , which are reported in cost of products sold , will typically offset losses or gains on the physical inventory once the product is sold ( which may or may not occur in the same accounting period ) . we do not use futures or options contracts , or other derivative instruments , for speculative trading purposes . unrealized non-cash gains or losses from changes in the fair value of derivative instruments that are not designated as cash flow hedges are recorded within cost of products sold . cost of products sold excludes depreciation and amortization ; these amounts are reported separately within the consolidated statements of operations . from a commodity perspective , wholesale propane prices trended lower during the first half of the fiscal year and then stayed fairly range bound in the $ 0.45 to $ 0.55 per gallon range , basis mont belvieu , texas . as of september 2020 , propane inventory levels in the united states were 6 % higher than at september 2019 and 13 % above the 5-year average for september , as strong u.s. production outpaced domestic demand and exports . overall , average posted propane prices ( basis mont belvieu , texas ) and fuel oil prices during fiscal 2020 were approximately 28.0 % lower than the prior year . the net change in the fair value of derivative 32 instruments during the fiscal year resulted in unrealized non-cash losses of $ 0.4 million and $ 8.0 million reported in cost of products sold in fiscal 20 20 and 201 9 , respectively , resulting in a year-over-year de crease of $ 7.6 million in cost of products sold , all of which was reported in the propane segment . cost of products sold associated with the distribution of propane and related activities of $ 305.8 million for fiscal 2020 decreased $ 112.5 million , or 26.9 % , compared to the prior year , primarily due to lower wholesale costs and lower volumes sold . the decreases in average propane costs and propane volumes sold during fiscal 2020 resulted in decreases in cost of products sold of $ 77.2 million and $ 22.8 million , respectively . cost of products sold from risk management activities decreased $ 4.9 million compared to the prior year , primarily due to a lower notional amount of hedging contracts that were settled physically , as well as the $ 7.6 million difference in mark-to-market adjustments on derivative instruments discussed above . cost of products sold associated with our fuel oil and refined fuels segment of $ 46.3 million for fiscal 2020 decreased $ 16.9 million , or 26.7 % , compared to the prior year , due to lower wholesale costs and lower volumes sold , which resulted in decreases in cost of products sold of $ 8.9 million and $ 8.0 million compared to the prior year , respectively . cost of products sold in our natural gas and electricity segment of $ 17.3 million for fiscal 2020 decreased $ 9.8 million , or 36.1 % , compared to the prior year , primarily due to lower usage . total cost of products sold as a percent of total revenues decreased 6.6 percentage points to 34.6 % in fiscal 2020 from 41.2 % in the prior year , primarily due to the decline in wholesale costs outpacing the decline in average selling prices on a percentage basis , coupled with the impact of mark-to-mark adjustments on derivative instruments . operating expenses replace_table_token_4_th all costs of operating our retail distribution and appliance sales and service operations are reported within operating expenses in the consolidated statements of operations . these operating expenses include the compensation and benefits of field and direct operating support personnel , costs of operating and maintaining our vehicle fleet , overhead and other costs of our purchasing , training and safety departments and other direct and indirect costs of operating our customer service centers . operating expenses of $ 402.0 million for fiscal 2020 decreased $ 1.0 million , or 0.2 % , compared to $ 403.0 million in the prior year , primarily due to lower payroll and benefit-related costs and lower variable volume-related operating costs , offset to an extent by an increase in accruals for self-insured liabilities and other legal matters and higher vehicle lease

