Cheaper Oil for Fuel?

maxi_isa

Looks as if the price is edging up again.

A week or two ago it was about 52p/litre round here (Harrogate area) but it had gone up to 54.3p when I ordered 1200l yesterday.

It certainly pays to ring round several suppliers as I was quoted as much as 61.75p/litre!

milliemonster

looking at quotes this morning and cheapest I can get is 58ppl, why on earth is it still climbing so much? last year this time it was about 46ppl and it hasn't been below 50p at all this year, I have half a tank left at the moment and want to stock up before winter sets in and prices rocket (again) but not sure when is going to be the best time

chris1973

why on earth is it still climbing so much? last year this time it was about 46ppl and it hasn't been below 50p at all this year

The same reason as Road Diesel is now £1.37+ a litre and not £1.00 a litre like it was 'in the good old days' or £1.20 / litre like it was last year!!

Prices of heating oil track the crude prices just the same as petrol and diesel and other crude based products, since crude is also traded in USD, the strength of Sterling against the dollar also factors in the prices which the refiners pay for these raw products in the UK. The '£' has been weak for a while now, and given the state of the economy, probably will be for a long time to come.

If you get a situation where the '£' is weak and you also have increasing crude prices, then the price of Oil based products here increases hugely.

Supply and Demand also figures highly too. Needless to say the best time to negotiate supplier prices would be on a day when its 28c outside and all of the delivery drivers are sat around playing cards and dreaming of snow and any monthly bonus / targets haven't yet been met!. The worst time to negotiate price or even a delivery, would be when its -18c outside and three days before Xmas, which a LOT of people found last year.

The UK weather is unpredictable, and the Winters over the past few years have seen an increase in the number of these sudden and fairly long lasting cold snaps appear from out of the blue. Hopefully anybody solely reliant on oil for heating will have several hundred litres residing in their tanks carefully bought when demand and prices were low, and not when the snow begins to fall or everybody begins panic filling their tanks.

If I remember rightly, prices in some areas peaked at almost 70p a litre in some places during a cold spell last year when there was more demand than delivery slots!, of course bad weather can also hamper road deliveries also so this should be bourne in mind when letting tanks run almost dry. After all, it can be 8c one day and snowing the next- weather doesn't allow for oil delivery notice periods.

Does anybody put an annual oil purchase on a 0% credit card?. It seems to me that 2000 litres bought when prices are hovering at £0.52 a litre would be £1040 - or £86.66 a month over 12 months on a 0% deal. This figure isn't that much more than the Direct Debit which some are paying for their Gas / Electricity heating requirements. Buying in a 'low demand' period may also give some scope for reducing or removing any credit card surcharge also. Of course if you can last for 12 months on less than 2000 litres, then the monthly cost drops also.

It is about time the government stepped in now and did something about these greedy oil companies, this is heating oil !!!!!! it is far from a luxury item!

What is the incentive for them to do this?. Some people seem to believe that the Glubberment really give a To$$ about the lives of everyday folk. After all, it gets 5% in VAT from the sale of oil, and so it makes more revenue from suppliers selling it at £0.60 than £0.50!. If it really gave a Damn it would scrap the 5% vat on heating fuel across the board with immediate effect in order to lessen the burden on the increase in all utility bills and the 'luxury' of keeping warm, but don't hold your breath.

I think its probably also only a matter of time before the glubberment also find a way to rake back the Feed in Tariff subsidies paid out to solar / wind power users from oil / LPG users too, in the same way as it already does from Gas / Electricity bills.

Spirit_2

Our tank will be filled by Friday. At least 1000L at 57.25ppl.

I currently pay a £113 per month by standing order, and I think I need to increase that. It went up in April from £75 , it is for heating, cooking, hot water.

How are people on limited incomes coping with such inflationary hikes?

Jo4

Has anyone got any idea whether or not the price of home heating oil is going to fall any time soon?

suki1964

Jo4 wrote: »

Has anyone got any idea whether or not the price of home heating oil is going to fall any time soon?

Its going up around here ( NI)

900ltrs - £525cod

Lotus-eater

This I think is interesting.
http://www.chrispomfret.co.uk/2011/09/dcc-continues-inexorable-march-to-total.html

Jo4

suki1964 wrote: »

Its going up around here ( NI)

900ltrs - £525cod

I am in NI also and I am looking to purchase 1800 litres. The best quote I can get is £1035.72 delivered with Boilerjuice!

rich_jtg

Lotus-eater wrote: »

This I think is interesting.
http://www.chrispomfret.co.uk/2011/09/dcc-continues-inexorable-march-to-total.html

Did you buy the game?

nowtleft2

well the best I get is 57ppl ex vat so not sure what you lot are advising we buy. Thats for kerosene for CH boilers.