'We are not to blame for this' says fuel supplier after home heating oil price surge
A home heating oil supplier has said there is “nothing distributors can do” about the recent spike in fuel costs.
Andy Douglas was reacting to the fact that a 900 litre load of oil has gone from £615 to £789 since the start of the month.
The boss of Andy’s Oil, based just outside Portadown, said it can be “hard to sway” people from the view that small firms like his are cashing in – but they aren’t, he said.
The News Letter has been closely following the price of home heating oil since the US/Israeli attack on Iran saw prices surge at the start of spring.
Before the war, the average price of 900 litres of oil was £547 according to the Consumer Council, the public body which tracks the weekly fluctuations in the price across the Province.
Then it spiralled upward to a high of £1,089 on April 9, but had been steadily coming down ever since.
By the end of June, the price was back down to £615.
It then rose to £691 (July 9), then to £790 (July 16) – before coming down a mere £1 in the latest survey, published on Thursday.
The BBC was out in Belfast city centre today asking the general public their views on the rise; “terrible”, “ridiculous”, and “I really do fear for wee families” were some of the responses.
The oil suppliers who directly deliver oil to people’s doors had faced much flak in the springtime as politicians and the UFU president accused them of profiteering off the Iran war.
Mr Douglas said that things are different this time around: it is their quietest time of year, and that there is no “panic” buying despite the price spike.
"Things for distributors normally get busier around September time” so it “could have more of an impact” if the prices are still rising then, he said.
As to who is responsible for the price hike, he said: "I think people have their own set opinions and it’s hard to sway them.
"But the wholesale prices are available for anyone to go on themselves and look at on the internet – you can follow the price of heating oil on the wholesale market if they wish.
"People usually don’t want to do that, and have their own thoughts and ideas on what it should be.
"The wholesale price is up 25% from a month ago.
"There’s nothing distributors can do about that.
"We certainly don’t make 25% margins – nowhere near it.”
He added: “At the end of June prices were almost back to the upper end of normality.
"Then the Iran war kicked off again and prices went up almost a quarter, so that’s put an end to that cheaper period.
"It’s impossible to tell what’s going to happen in the Middle East, and oil prices are directly related to what happens there.”
The Consumer Council measures the average cost of oil when bought in loads of 900l, 500l, and 300l.
Here are its latest figures:
900l – £789;
500l – £445;
300l – £276.
David Blevings, head of the industry body the Northern Ireland Oil Federation, said: “Prices have risen in the last few weeks following the sharp rise in wholesale prices linked to heightened instability in global oil markets and the wider conflict in the Middle East.
"I note markets are falling today after the US ‘paused’ military activities which is good news and we hope for a quick settlement of the conflict in the Middle East to pave the way to lower prices ahead of this winter.”