Home heating oil prices dip slightly in Northern Ireland, despite war in the Middle East

For those who use oil, the price has dipped slightly, despite war in the Middle East.

This week the average cost of 500 litres and 900 litres of home heating oil in Northern Ireland was £384 and £681. This is down a bit from the end of last month, when 500 lts cost £401,900 lts £706, days before Hamas attacked Israel. The assault sparked fears of wider war in the volatile region, which has much of the world’s oil supplies, and thus a possible oil crisis, as happened 50 years ago, after the Yom Kippur war erupted in 1973, in which Arab nations and Israel were embroiled.

Current oil prices in NI are well up from the summer prices of around £280 for 500 lts and £500 for 900 lts, but even so they are much cheaper than last year, late October 2022, when the respective figures were £466 and £827.

David Blevings, of NI Oil Federation said, “Oil prices are falling due to milder weather which leads to lower demand and concerns generally on the weak economic outlook. The 'fear factor' that made markets jump has disappeared as the interruptions to supply lines did not happen. The delay in a ground invasion in Gaza and the efforts of various nations to help to defuse the Israel and Hamas conflict for the wider Middle East has allowed prices to stabilise and even move lower in the last few days.”

However he said an escalation in conflict could push prices higher within days. “We would advise all oil users to top up now as prices remain very competitive and to take advantage of these stable prices,” he said.