Home heating oil prices in Northern Ireland up slightly – but cost of road fuel drops

But the cost of petrol and diesel has gone down in the last seven days, according to separate figures also from the NI Consumer Council.

The average cost of buying 300 litres of home heating oil has increased slightly in the past seven days, going up from £164.90 to £165.14.

The cost of 500 litre and 900 litre purchases have also increased, the former going up to £258.25 and the latter to £456.60.

Last week, 500 litres were 38p cheaper, while 900 litres were 37p cheaper.

Despite the rises over the past week, prices still remain lower than they have been at any point since late 2021.

The costs listed seven days ago were at the lowest levels recorded by the Consumer Council since the price shock caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to the consumer watchdog, the best price on a 300 litre purchase of oil this week was recorded in the Mid and East Antrim area, where customers are saving £1.77 compared to the average cost in NI.

Ards and North Down customers were getting the best prices on 500 litre and 900 litre purchases, saving £1.67 and £3.47 respectively.

By contrast, people buying in the Mid Ulster area were paying more for every volume of fuel, with 300 litres costing £1.75 more, 500 litres up £2.80 and 900 litres £4.37 more expensive than the average.

However, car fuel prices have gone down in the last week, with petrol down 0.4p per litre on average to 128.8p, and diesel down 0.5p per litre to 133.7p per litre.

The Consumer Council checked the prices at filling stations across NI, and found the best petrol price in Coleraine, where customers can save 2.9p per litre.

The best deal on diesel was recorded in Carrickfergus, where drivers were saving 2.8p per litre compared to the NI-wide average.

The worst deal on both petrol and diesel was in Magherafelt, where the price was 3.1p per litre higher for petrol, and 3.5p per litre higher for diesel.

The latest research on home heating oil comes as over 60% of people in NI told a survey that their energy bills have continued going up this year.

The annual home energy survey by website Power to Switch found the cost of living crisis is continuing to hit households, three years after prices soared in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But there were improvements, as the level of people who said they were facing rising energy costs had fallen from 90% in 2024 to 61%.

Respondents said the typical increase in annual bills was £357 – lower than the £558 experienced in 2024, and the £679 increase of 2023. Across the last three years, households have faced an average increase in energy bills of £1,594.