Home heating oil prices in Northern Ireland continue to fall
The price of home heating oil across Northern Ireland is continuing to take a welcome drop.
This week’s figures from the Consumer Council show the cost of topping up an oil tank is continuing on a downward trend with the average cost of 900 litres almost £19 less than it was last week. The average cost of 300 litres is £6.88 less than last week and 500 litres is also lower, with an average reduction of £10.60 compared to last week.
A fortnight ago oil cost on average £48.84 more (900 litres), £27.78 more (500 litres) and £18.85 more (300 litres).
The dip in prices will be welcome news for householders, especially as the weather gets colder.
The average cost of 300 litres in Northern Ireland is now £267.07, while the average price of 500 litres is £431.80 and £765.48 for 900 litres.
While this week’s prices show a continued 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 in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon at £272.32 while the lowest average price of found £262.35 was found in Mid and East Antrim.
When it comes to 500 litres, residents of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon are paying the highest average price at £438.39 while the average price is in Mid and East Antrim at £426.17.
The highest average cost of 900 litres is currently £774.29 in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon while the lowest is £755.86 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.