Home heating oil prices have fallen to post-Ukraine war lows, and stayed down for the last month
Home heating oil prices have now stayed for a month at their lowest level since the Ukraine invasion.
The cost of such fuel, which is still the most popular way of heating a home in Northern Ireland, has been low since the spring, at about £300 for 500 litres and £540 for 900 litres.
But last month it edged even lower, to around £285 for 500ltrs and £490 for 900 ltrs.
This is cheaper than it was even prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when in the week before the attack heating oil cost £320 and £556 for 500 ltrs and 900 ltrs respectively. The war caused prices to jump at once to more than £500 for 500ltrs and more than £900 for 900 ltrs.
For many months thereafter, prices remained high – approaching or above £1 a litre. It was not until 18 months after President Putin’s assault that oil prices in NI fell back to low levels, dropping under £300 for 500 ltrs and £500 for 900 ltrs in the summer of last year.
The Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 led to fears of a fresh spike in prices, but they never came.
The current low prices are caused by a drop in global demand due to factors including mild weather and economic difficulties in some overseas markets for oil.
Last week, the average price of oil in the province was a mere £278 for 500 ltrs and £487 for 900 ltrs, according to the NI Consumer Council, the fourth week they have been around such levels. It means that home heating oil costs as little as 54p a litre, less than its post invasion highs.
The sharp fall in prices is all the more surprising given that demand in NI goes up as winter gets near.
Markedly lower oil costs should help to greatly alleviate the cost of living for households across NI.