Cost of living: Price of home heating oil falls for seventh consecutive week, petrol and diesel also continue to drop in cost

Petrol and diesel too have fallen in price, with fuel now around 17 pence cheaper than it had been at June’s peak.

A litre of petrol now costs 172.5p on average while diesel is 181.4p, both falling around 4p in the past week according to the latest survey by the Consumer Council.

The average cost of 900 litres of home heating oil has fallen by more than £30 to £727.86, the lowest it has been since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

It is the seventh consecutive week that has witnessed a price drop, beginning after June 23 when 900 litres cost £931.84.

The Lisburn and Castlereagh district remains the cheapest area for home heating oil, costing an average of £709.61 for 900 litres.

The dearest average is the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon area at £743.50.

Meanwhile the dearest average price of a litre of petrol in Northern Ireland was found to be in Londonderry where it would set you back 178.3p.

It pipped Ballycastle which had been the dearest for a number of weeks.

The cheapest petrol can be found in Armagh at 162.9p according to the Consumer Council’s weekly survey, closely followed by Newry at 164.9p.

In terms of diesel, the dearest is in Newtownabbey at 186.9p per litre while the cheapest is in Armagh at 173.9p per litre.

As the price of fuel, and specifically home heating oil continue to drop, people have been urged not to go without home heating oil in the hopes of prices dropping further.

Northern Ireland Consumer Council’s director of infrastructure and sustainability, Peter McClenaghan said costs could still “seesaw” amid “volatile” market conditions.

He said: “Prices have reduced slightly as those who trade oil are concerned about the impact a recession could have on the global demand for oil.

“With the market to remain volatile due to factors including tensions over energy supply coming from Russia, local prices could also seesaw in the short-term.

“Therefore, it is unlikely to be very beneficial for consumers to hold off buying home heating oil, especially if it means going without heat.

“Instead, consumers should continue to shop around for the best deal particularly as buying large volumes of home heating oil is a huge outlay for families right now.”

For further information and advice you can call the Consumer Council on 0800 121 6022 (freephone) or email [email protected]