Average Northern Ireland home heating oil prices drop to fifth lowest recorded levels in nearly a year

The average price of a 900 litre delivery of kerosene in Northern Ireland now stands at £745.86, according to the latest weekly figures from the Northern Ireland Consumer Council.

This represents a drop of nearly £40 on last week's price of £782.69, and is the lowest recorded since December 1 when the average price was £743.79.

The last time a cheaper Northern Ireland average price for 900 litres of home heating oil was reported by the consumer council was in the middle of August.

When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February last year, home heating oil prices quickly spiked and reached a peak on March 10 of just over £1,181 for 900 litres, on average.

Costs have fluctuated since that time, but fell to a low of £727.86 on August 11, before rising to £740.87 a week later.

The £745.86 reported by the consumer council on Thursday is the fifth lowest reported since prices surpassed £750 for the first time nearly a year ago.

If a fall in Northern Ireland oil prices - largely dictated by global markets - continues there is still some distance to go before average costs match what they were before the invasion of Ukraine.

In the spring, summer and autumn of 2021, consumers could expect to pay well under £400 for a 900 litre delivery of home heating oil.

Costs crept up over the winter of that year, before almost trebling in the aftermath of the Russian invasion and the subsequent sanctions programme.

Vehicle fuel prices, meanwhile, have remained relatively unchanged in the past week.

Petrol is retailing for an average of 144.3p per litre in Northern Ireland - up by a fraction of a penny on last week's average of 144.2p.

Average diesel prices have fallen by less than a penny in the past seven days, from 164.2p last week to 163.5p per litre on Thursday.

Both petrol and diesel prices remain far above pre Ukraine war prices, but represent a significant decrease on the peak in the summer when diesel was sometimes retailing for more than £2 per litre with petrol prices not far behind.