Home heating oil and fuel prices creeping up again latest figures reveal | Belfast News Letter

2022-05-21 14:50:09 By : Ms. Wendy She

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The average cost of 300 litres of home heating oil in NI now stands at £273.21 — up slightly on last week’s figure of £261.67 — according to the latest weekly price checker figures from the consumer council.

Heating oil prices peaked at an average of £409.36 for 300 litres on March 10. The average cost of 500 litres is now £433.84, while 900 litres will cost around £761.64.

Prices had been on a downward trajectory between mid-March and April 14 – when they hit £730 for 900 litres – before creeping up again over the last fortnight.

The average cost of heating oil in NI is £100 more for 300 litres, and more than £300 more for 900 litres, than it was in November. This time last year it would have cost £130.82 to buy 300 litres, £192.11 for 500 and £329.86 for 900 litres.

The Consumer Council advises anyone with an oil boiler to keep it properly maintained to reduce operating costs.

“Having your boiler serviced regularly is essential to ensuring that it runs efficiently and safely,” and “make sure to shop around and look at other [oil] suppliers, as many of the suppliers will deliver further afield at no extra cost,” the Consumer Council advises.

The cost of both diesel and petrol in Northern Ireland has also risen again this week according to the latest figures released by the Consumer Council.

The average cost of a litre of diesel in Northern Ireland is 173.4 pence – up slightly on last week’s figure of 172p.

Petrol is up to 161p on average compared to 159.7p last week.

Diesel prices peaked at an average price of 176.2p per litre on March 24.

Petrol prices also reached an historic high on March 24, with an average per litre price of 165.1p.

Ballymena had the highest average cost of diesel this week at 175.9p, compared to Omagh, the lowest at 168.1p on average.

The highest prices for petrol on average were recorded in the Lisburn area at 165.9p, while Omagh had the lowest at 155.6p.