In the north of Ireland, the cost of keeping a home warm and getting around by road has slipped to a level not seen since the winter before Russia's invasion of Ukraine reshaped the continent's energy markets. Consumer Council NI's weekly averages show a 500-litre tank of heating oil now costs about £307, and diesel has fallen to its lowest point in fifteen months. It is a quiet turn after a year when fuel became a symbol of hardship, and it reminds us that relief comes slowly, unevenly, and never quite back to where it began.
NI Diesel and Home Heating Oil Prices Fall to Lowest Level in 15 Months
More than double today's figure
Mark
Fifteen months is a long stretch. Why does this particular low point matter?
Mimi
Because it takes prices back to early February 2022, just before the invasion. A 500-litre tank now averages £307.32, against a peak of £662.86 on March 10, 2022.
Mark
So the cost has more than halved?
Mimi
From that peak, yes. Diesel is down from 197.5p to 148.5p, and petrol from 189.9p to 143.6p.
Luke
Careful with the word peak. Those are Consumer Council NI averages, not what every household paid. Individual deliveries could have cost more or less.
Mimi
Fair. They are weekly averages, and the council is the single source for all of them.
Mark
The regional gaps are interesting. Londonderry diesel is 159.9p and Ballyclare is 141.9p.
Mimi
That is 18p a litre. For heating oil the spread across council areas is only about £5 on 500 litres.
Luke
Those are the cheapest and dearest figures in the data. They do not tell us why prices differ, and the report does not explain it.
Mark
Does a 15-month low mean the crisis is over?
Luke
The reporting does not say that. It says prices are at their lowest since February 2022, and it does not forecast where they go next.
Mimi
Right. The story is that the numbers are easing, and the next few weekly releases will show whether that continues.
O Pulso
- A 500-litre heating oil delivery, which topped £662 in March 2022, now averages £307.32, lifting a weight off many household budgets.
- Diesel has dropped from its June peak of 197.5p a litre to 148.5p, leaving drivers and hauliers feeling a rare breath of relief.
- Prices are sliding week by week, but they still sit well above where they stood before the invasion of Ukraine.
- Regional gaps persist, with diesel in Londonderry costing 18p more a litre than in Ballyclare, so where you live still shapes what you pay.
In the north of Ireland, the cost of keeping a home warm and getting around by road has slipped to a level not seen since the winter before Russia's invasion of Ukraine reshaped the continent's energy markets. Consumer Council NI's weekly averages show a 500-litre tank of heating oil now costs about £307, and diesel has fallen to its lowest point in fifteen months. It is a quiet turn after a year when fuel became a symbol of hardship, and it reminds us that relief comes slowly, unevenly, and never quite back to where it began.
Fill a 500-litre heating oil tank in Northern Ireland this week and the average bill comes to £307.32. That is the lowest figure since before Russia invaded Ukraine, according to Consumer Council NI's weekly averages, and diesel has hit its own fifteen-month low.
The starting point for all of this is February 24, 2022. Oil and fuel prices climbed sharply across Europe after the invasion, deepening a cost of living crisis that households are still living with. The peaks were severe: on March 10, 2022, 500 litres of heating oil reached £662.86, more than double today's figure. Diesel hit 197.5p a litre last June.
Today's averages still vary by place. Heating oil costs about £5 more in Derry City and Strabane than in Antrim and Newtownabbey or Ards and North Down. At the pumps the spread is wider, with diesel 18p a litre higher in Londonderry than in Ballyclare.
The figures bring real relief to those who buy oil by the tank and to regular drivers. They are only averages, though, and what any household pays depends on its location and delivery size. The open question is whether the weekly numbers keep falling or settle here, and how far they remain from pre-invasion levels.
Fill a 500-litre heating oil tank in Northern Ireland this week and the average bill comes to £307.32. That is the lowest figure since before Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the weekly averages published by Consumer Council NI. Diesel has hit its own 15-month low, too.
The other tank sizes tell the same story. A 300-litre delivery averages £197.90, while 900 litres costs £542.80. At the pumps, diesel averages 148.5p a litre and petrol 143.6p.
The starting point for all of this is February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Oil and fuel prices climbed sharply across Europe afterwards, and they fed into the cost of living crisis that households are still living with. The last time home heating oil and diesel were as cheap as they are now was February 3, 2022, three weeks before the invasion.
The peaks show how far prices have come down. On March 10, 2022, the average price of 500 litres of heating oil reached £662.86. That is more than double today's figure. At the pumps, diesel hit 197.5p a litre and petrol 189.9p, both at their highest last June. Diesel is therefore about 49p a litre below its high, and petrol about 46p.
Prices still vary by place. For 500 litres of heating oil, the cheapest council areas are Antrim and Newtownabbey and Ards and North Down, both averaging £305.05. The dearest is Derry City and Strabane at £310.28. The gap is about £5, narrow next to the swings of the past year.
The spread at the pumps is wider. Diesel is cheapest in Ballyclare at 141.9p a litre, while Londonderry has the highest price at 159.9p, a difference of 18p. Petrol follows a similar pattern: Coleraine is cheapest at 137.9p and Carrickfergus dearest at 150.9p, a gap of 13p.
The figures bring some relief to households that buy oil by the tank and to drivers who fill up regularly. They are averages, though, and what a given household pays depends on where it is and what size of delivery it orders. What to watch next is whether Consumer Council NI's weekly numbers keep falling or settle at this level, and how those prices compare with where they stood before the invasion.
Citações Notáveis
Average diesel and home heating oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels since the Russian invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago.— Consumer Council NI weekly figures, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph
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