Jackson Inc. is preparing a flexible budget for 2017 and requires a breakdown of the cost of steam used in its factory into the fixed and variable elements. The following data on the cost of steam used and direct manufacturing labor hours worked are available for the last 6 months of 2016: Month Cost of steam Direct manufacturing labor hours July $15,850 3,000 August 13,400 2,050 September 16,370 2,900 October 19,800 3,650 November 17,600 2,670 December 18,500 2,650 Assuming that jackson uses the high-low points method of analysis, the estimated variable cost of steam per direct manufacturing labor hour should be