Prices of household heating oil and fuel in Northern Ireland are at the lowest level since 2021, and it is recommended to buy it now if you have the ability.

The average price of 500 liters of home heating oil is £258.78; according to the Consumer Council NI (CCNI) weekly price checker, a liter of petrol costs 128.7p and diesel costs 133.4p per liter.

In March 2022, the 500-liter home heating oil in July 2022 reached £662.86, and petrol reached 189.9 pence per liter. In June of the same year, the average diesel was 197.5 pence per liter.

Despite the recent warm weather and the upcoming summer, CCNI's Energy Raymond Gormley suggests "now is a good time" to buy oil in the "volatile market."

Almost two-thirds of Northern Ireland's homes (62.5%) use oil to heat, the country with the highest proportion of UK countries.

At a busy petrol station in Lurgan, Armagh County, some of them fill up gasoline or diesel with gasoline or diesel, said that while the price may be low, they are still too expensive for many.

Tina Beggs said it would cost nearly £100 to fill her two-liter diesel, which is "ridiculous".

She explained: “I work part time, so I do 20 hours a week, which gives me about £1,000 a month and when I pay the mortgage you are talking about an extra £100 or £150.”

“For someone like me who works part-time, it’s actually a big part of my salary,” she added.

Michael Breen believes that the fuel price “could be lowered again” and notes that the price difference at gas stations is large.

"You go to some petrol stations and diesel has a 10p difference, so there is also some shopping," he said.

"It's been fluctuating, it could rise again. All winter, fuel passes through the roof and falls again in the summer. That's really what it is."

Tanya Preshur, who recently switched from diesel to petrol car, said she spent about £40 a week on fuel despite the price being "probably lower".

“I use cars for school running and run with the kids,” she said.

"The price is up. I think it's a smaller run. You're using more (fuel) because you're running back and forth all the time.

“I’m now investing about £40 to £50 a week in cars, just like maybe £80 a week.”

Meanwhile, Dominic Thornton, who works near his Lurgan home, said he is more concerned about home heating oil and food prices.

"We may be more worried about the cost of heating oil because we are moving from a small house to a slightly larger house, so we are worried about how much it will cost, heating costs, and everything else to go up," he said.

"I don't know how to pull the pump, look at the price of a liter of fuel; I'm more concerned about the price of a liter of milk."

Raymond Gormley of CCNI said the current low fuel and home heating oil prices are due to several factors, including trade tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump and crude oil producers that produce more oil.

The group of the oil exporting Countries (OPEC) is a coalition of the world's top crude oil producers, announced last month that they will increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day.

"So, you have an impact on the world economy and overproduction that Trump has; that means demand is low, supply is high, prices are down," Gormley said.

Mr. Gormley advises consumers to do this if they can, because “worth the money.”

"This is not to say it will fall again next week, but again, it may rise again next week," he said. "It's a very turbulent market.

“In the summer, you have 100 different things that cost money, and the last thing you want to do is think ahead and go, ‘I have a few pounds; oil is cheap; I can buy it in the offseason now’.

“In the summer, it is usually cheaper than in winter due to supply and demand – the weather is colder, the demand is higher and the prices are rising.”

It is important that as your order is smaller, the more you pay per liter, it is important to buy oil in bulk.

CCNI's weekly oil price checker allows you to view the average price of 300, 500 and 900 litres of oil, which gives consumers an idea of ​​how much they should spend before pricing their local suppliers.

For those who don’t order oil in one go, Mr. Gormley recommends joining an oil buying club where communities gather to buy oil and hopefully save it.

The NI Oil Federation also offers an advance payment plan, while petroleum fuel stamps allow residents to budget and allocate fees by purchasing stamps from local retailers and using them to pay for their oil payments.