Home heating oil prices in Northern Ireland at their lowest in past nine weeks
The price of home heating oil across Northern Ireland has dropped to its lowest price since the beginning of December.
The Consumer Council's weekly price check shows that the average price of 900 litres of oil is now £745.86, a drop of more than £36 in a week.
This compares with the highest average price for the same quantity of oil in March 2022 – shortly after the Ukraine war started – when householders had to fork out an eye-watering £1,181.
While this week’s prices show a welcome downturn, it is still worth shopping around for the best deal as many suppliers will deliver further afield at no extra cost.The Consumer Council figures also show a difference between Northern Ireland’s local council areas.
The highest average price for 300 litres this week is £267.13 in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon while the lowest average price of £261.87 was found in Fermanagh and Omagh.
When it comes to 500 litres, residents of Newry City, Mourne and Down are paying £423.42 while the average price in Fermanagh and Omagh and in Lisburn and Castlereagh is £417.33.
The highest average cost of 900 litres, meanwhile, is currently £753.50 in Derry City and Strabane while the lowest is £739.38 in Lisburn and Castlereagh.
The Consumer Council says that many people find it difficult to budget for large one-off bulk deliveries. Larger orders are a higher one-off cost, but smaller orders cost more per litre. Buyers often have no option but to place these smaller, more expensive orders but joining a local oil buying club is one solution to this problem.
The Northern Ireland Oil Federation also has PayPoint facilities to enable you to budget and make regular payments towards your oil delivery instead of having to pay for your delivery in a lump sum.