Oil heating users are the big winners on price
In the last edition of Fuel Price Commentary, we posed the question whether there could finally be some light at the end of the tunnel for heating users, following several years of extremely high prices
That question seems to have been timely because the latest data from the Sutherland Tables does indeed reveal some significant price falls, including for mains gas, the most popular fuel in the UK. Compared to a year ago, the average annual running costs for the majority of fuels have fallen, so let’s focus on those that haven’t. LPG users are the big losers with all regions seeing price increases. In the UK, Ofgem’s price cap puts a ceiling on how much suppliers can charge for mains gas, but LPG is not included, and unlike heating oil, the global price has remained relatively high, although it is cheaper now than at the beginning of the year.
In Northern Ireland, the annual cost of wood pellets and some types of electric heating have also increased, which is bad news for the users concerned. However, in the UK and Republic of Ireland, prices for these fuels have fallen.
The biggest winners
However, without doubt, the biggest winners continue to be users of oil heating, which is the cheapest heating fuel option in all regions. Not only is the annual cost lower than a year ago, but it is also cheaper than the longer term four-year average price.
There’s a good chance this will continue. The price of crude oil has fallen significantly since the beginning of the year, and it’s likely that the price of heating oil will continue to fall through the summer as this feeds through. Unlike most other fuels, the price of crude oil has now returned to pre-pandemic, pre-Ukraine war levels and, with Trump back in the Whitehouse, they may well stay low.
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