The price of home heating oil has fallen for the fifth consecutive week in the north, while road fuel prices have dropped for the seventh week running.
New analysis from the Consumer Council suggests the average price of diesel fell to £1.51 per litre this week, while petrol is now averaging £1.43.6 at pumps.
The weekly survey from the consumer watchdog found the average order of 500 litres of oil came in at £354.80 this week, with 900 litres averaging £630.36 and 300 litres coming in at £224.53.
The price of home heating oil has steadily fallen since October 19, when 500 litres was priced at around £390.
The cost of kerosene, which is used to heat around two-thirds of households in the north, is now at its lowest level since August 2023.
But prices are still around £75 higher than the recent low in June 2023 (£280/500L), and much higher than the same week in 2021, when 500 litres averaged at around £262.
The average price of 500 litres of home heating oil in #NothernIreland is £354.80.
— Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (@ConsumerCouncil) November 23, 2023
View this week’s average prices for 300, 500 and 900 litres in your area in our updated home heating oil price checker toolhttps://t.co/CSk4LWBirs pic.twitter.com/CMy6nIOw4R
Road fuel prices have also been steadily falling from a recent peak in early October when diesel hit £158.2 and petrol increased to £1.52 per litre.
But again, the latest prices at the pumps are up on the recent lows experienced during June and July, and significantly higher than prices in 2020 and 2021.
Oil prices dramatically spiked in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, peaking at £662 for 500 litres.
Despite some fluctuations, prices have generally tracked downwards in the period since.
The price of heating oil and road fuel, which closely track the price of crude oil, had increased during the summer following moves by the major oil producing countries to limit production.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil peaked at around $94 in mid-September.
But prices have steadily fallen in November, dropping to around $81 on Thursday morning.
The Consumer Council’s latest survey found Derry and Strabane had the lowest average price for 500 litres of home heating oil (£350.38), with the highest in Newry, Mourne & Down (£358.25).
The survey recorded the highest prices for both diesel (£1.58.9) and petrol (£1.49.9) in Downpatrick.
The lowest petrol price was recorded in Lisburn (£1.47.9), with Armagh (£1.38.2) registering the lowest petrol price.
