Fuel and home heating oil prices in Northern Ireland take another dip with prices rolling back almost four months

The cost of home heating oil is also falling with 900 litres costing £40 less than it did a week ago.

The latest figures for the Province from the Consumer Council show that a litre of petrol costs an average of 182.3p and diesel 188.3p per litre.

But the current prices are a long way off the prices of a year ago when petrol cost 130.7p per litre and a litre of diesel cost 132.2p.

Prices have been on the rise since the end of February this year, coinciding with the beginning of the war in Ukraine, and appear to have reached their peak at the end of June when petrol on average cost 189.9p and diesel cost 197.5p in Northern Ireland.

According to the most recent survey by the Consumer Council, the cheapest petrol in Northern Ireland can be found at 169.9p per litre in Belfast, though the city is also home to the dearest petrol at 190.9p per litre.

Perhaps a better indicator is average price, in which case Strabane is the go-to location with petrol costing 174.3p on average, closely followed by Newry where petrol will set you back around 175.9p.

The dearest petrol on average was found to be in Ballycastle at 188p per litre.

For those drivers in search of diesel, on average Omagh was the best location at a cost of 179.7p per litre.

Armagh was next on the list at 180.9p per litre.

The dearest diesel was found in Bangor at an average cost of 192.1p per litre.

In terms of home heating oil, 900 litres now averages £773.48, 500 litres will set you back £436.97 and 300 litres comes in at £274.80.

Those prices are similar to the cost of home heating oil in April, but still almost double what they were this time a year ago – £377.18 for 900 litres, £220.25 for 500 litres and £144.68 for 300 litres.

Like fuel prices, the peak seems to have been in June.

The Consumer Council found that there was around £23 in the range of the cost of home heating across the Province.

The highest average cost of 500 litres was £448.93 in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon council area while the lowest average was £425.84 in Lisburn and Castlereagh. All prices surveyed include 5% VAT.

The Consumer Council said: “Every week we survey suppliers across Northern Ireland to benchmark prices on the cost of home heating oil.

“You may save money by using this tool to check if you are paying more than average price. Make sure to shop around and look at other suppliers, as many will deliver further afield at no extra cost.

“Not every town or supplier is represented but we hope this information gives you an idea of what you could be paying, and helps you shop around for a better deal.”