Heating oil at cheapest since Iran crisis began

The average price of 500 litres of home heating oil has dropped below £400 for the first time since the Iran crisis began in February, figures from the NI Consumer Council suggest.

The council said the average price on Tuesday was £395 compared to a peak of almost £630 in April.

Oil prices on global markets had been falling in recent weeks in anticipation of a deal between the US and Iran.

Prices have continued to fall since the deal was announced.

Brent crude was just above $80 a barrel on Tuesday morning compared to around $120 a barrel during the most intense phase of the crisis.

Before the conflict prices had been as low as $65 a barrel, reflecting a glut of oil production.

This was also seen in heating oil prices with 500 litres costing less than £300 at the start of this year.

Around two thirds of Northern Ireland households use home heating oil.

Unlike gas or electricity, the heating oil market is unregulated and prices almost doubled in the space of a week at the start of the crisis.

Lower income households which use oil are due to get a £100 grant later this year.

Consumer council figures also show that petrol and diesel prices have been coming down from their peaks.

Last week the average price of a litre of unleaded was just under 151p compared to a recent peak of 154p.

Diesel prices have seen bigger price swings with last week's average of 169p a litre comparing to the April peak of 188p.

Crude oil is a key ingredient in petrol and diesel, which means that higher wholesale costs make filling up a car more expensive.

Analysts say every $10 (£7.53) increase in the oil price pushes up pump prices by roughly 7p a litre.