Northern Irish petrol prices almost back at their highest point since Iran war began as diesel also climbs
Petrol prices are nearly at the highest they have been since the US/Israeli attack on Iran began.
That is the picture painted by the government agency the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, which keeps a weekly tab of the price of fuel across the Province.
Diesel as well as petrol has risen in the past week, making that the fifth straight week the prices have gone up (however, at the same time the cost of home heating oil has dipped).
As of Thursday, the average cost of petrol in NI was 153.7ppl (0.5p more than a week earlier), and for diesel it was 173.4ppl (2p more than seven days prior).
In February, before the war, petrol had cost an average of 124.8ppl in Northern Ireland, while diesel cost 132.6ppl.
Fuel prices spiked sharply and reached their peak in April: 154ppl for petrol, and 188.1ppl for diesel.
After that diesel and petrol started to drop, though petrol did so at a much slower rate.
On July 9 they both reached their lowest point for months – and since then petrol has gone up in price by 6.2%, while diesel is up by 12.1%.
According to the website Boilerjuice.com, the price of red diesel in NI has been largely stable since mid-July, and currently stands at 94.03ppl (excluding VAT).
Home heating oil has followed a rather similar pattern as petrol and diesel: a big springtime spike, then a decline, then a leap in price again in early July.
It has been shimmying up and down slightly since mid-July, but has basically plateaued.
The average price now sits at:
£778 for 900 litres (down £9 on a week earlier);
£440 for 500 litres (down £4 on a week earlier);
£271 for 300 litres (down £2 on a week earlier).
Meanwhile in the Middle East, hostilities continue.
The latest news is that two tankers run by the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company were bombed by Iranian drones on Thursday night as they sailed through the Strait of Hormuz.
The United Arab Emirates is a US ally.
That came after US president Donald Trump had said on Wednesday that the USA had "total control" of the strait.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to the Middle East next week to advance plans for an end to the conflict in Gaza, after a deal recently announced by the Trump administration ran into Israeli opposition.
Mr Kushner, alongside fellow negotiator Tony Blair, the former UK Prime Minister, will arrive in Israel on Sunday.