Petrol and diesel costs in Northern Ireland still falling: diesel now around 35p cheaper than in the summer

The average price of diesel now stands at £1.64, having fallen slowly but surely since early November when it stood at just over £1.86.

The average price of diesel has now fallen for the 11th week in a row.

A degree of regional variation in the prices remains, however, with the lowest recorded in Strabane at 157.9p and the highest in nearby Londonderry at 173.9p.

Petrol prices, meanwhile, have also fallen in recent weeks with the average price now standing at just over £1.43 per litre - down from a peak in the summer of around £1.90.

That is according to the latest figures from the Northern Ireland Consumer Council, who published their latest weekly update on Thursday morning.

The consumer council's figures also show a hefty drop in the price of home heating oil, with the average cost of 900 litres now listed as £752.50 - down from £805.21 a week ago, £841.17 a fortnight ago, and £878.19 three weeks ago.

Home heating oil prices hit an all-time high earlier than vehicle fuel, with prices having peaked in early March at £1181.53 for 900 litres.

The costs remain far above what they were, however, before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

On January 13 last year, a 900 litre tank of home heating oil could be filled for just £479.56 – and in the summer of 2021 the same quantity of oil was regularly retailing for well below £400 across Northern Ireland.