Current Home Heating Oil Prices - Still Far Too High

cactuswhale

We've seen the cost of petrol and diesel drop dramatically over the past month or so thanks to declining oil prices and I've already heard some announcements of gas being reduced however, home heating oil still seems scandalously expensive. I can't get gas where I live, so I have little choice but to suck it and see.

My usual supplier is currently charging £475 for 500 litres of oil. Pre-war, it was around £250 or so. Why is it still do ridiculously high? Is home heating oil not regulated and therefore, they can just charge whatever they like? I've been keeping an eye on it for the past few months and the price has barely moved. In fact, It has gone up by about £20 or so. At one point, the price for 500 litres of oild was well over £600 which is nearly 3 times the cost before the war. I am no expert on econonmics or anything, but how is a near 300% increase possible due to a 3-4% gas shortfall from Russia?

Mstty

Fast to rise, slow to fall. 

Diesel and petrol has not falling evenly across the country either. Some very greedy companies out there.

As an example £182.9 verses £169.9 locally for diesel here.shop around, get in a group buy scheme make them compete for your purchase 

MattMattMattUK

cactuswhale said:

We've seen the cost of petrol and diesel drop dramatically over the past month or so thanks to declining oil prices and I've already heard some announcements of gas being reduced however, home heating oil still seems scandalously expensive. I can't get gas where I live, so I have little choice but to suck it and see.

I would not say that petrol and diesel have dropped dramatically, they have dropped a bit but are still well above pre-pandemic, or pre-Russia invasion of Ukraine prices. The gas price has not moved hugely, people tend to look at the wrong thing, or the price that affirms their desire, rather than the month ahead, six months ahead, year ahead prices etc which is where most energy is bought. Fuel oils are still cheaper per kWh than mains gas, 25-35% cheaper depending on where in the country you are.

cactuswhale said:

My usual supplier is currently charging £475 for 500 litres of oil. Pre-war, it was around £250 or so. 

It will likely stay at that, or a similar level for several years to come, it is of course cheaper if you buy 1,000 litres, the days of cheap energy are now over though.

cactuswhale said:

Why is it still do ridiculously high?

It is higher than historical levels, but perfectly understandable given the geopolitical situation and the supply/demand imbalance. 

cactuswhale said:

Is home heating oil not regulated and therefore, they can just charge whatever they like?

It is not regulated, but it is a competitive market, so they can charge what they can sell for, however if they try to charge too much then people will go to alternate suppliers. 

cactuswhale said:

I've been keeping an eye on it for the past few months and the price has barely moved. In fact, It has gone up by about £20 or so. At one point, the price for 500 litres of oild was well over £600 which is nearly 3 times the cost before the war. 

Why would you expect it to move downwards considerably going into winter?

cactuswhale said:

I am no expert on econonmics or anything, but how is a near 300% increase possible due to a 3-4% gas shortfall from Russia?

There is more than a 3-4% shortfall in gas, Russia also exported a lot more hydrocarbon fuels than just gas, including a good chunk of oils and oil products, a significant chunk of European diesel production was also in Russia which is why diesel prices have not dropped as much as petrol prices. Also price is not linear, a 5% drop in supply does not mean a 5% rise in prices, depending on the product and the global supply it could mean a rise of almost nothing, it could mean a rise of several hundred percent. 

From what others have said the best option is to buy a larger quantity, people are reporting on here getting prices around the 70p per litre price when buying 1,000 litres, vs price per litre above 95p when buying 500 litres. 

propertyrental

"My usual supplier is currently charging ..." time to shop around! I do that whenever I buy so don't have a 'usual supplier' though over the years 've established several ' usual suppliers'.

Bulk buying brings the cost down too, whether by having a big tank (mine's 2500 ltrs) or by buying jointly with neighbours (eg via one of the numerous group schemes).

I've not noticed petrol dropping 'dramatically'. Yes, down a bit but then so is oil!. Current price is around 76 ppl whereas it's been 85 - 90 for quite a while (and of course 140 ish at the peak).

dunstonh

My usual supplier is currently charging £475 for 500 litres of oil.

That is 95p a litre.  I just did a price and get 79.97p per litre.   That is 5p up on last week.  You may need to look at your supplier.

Pre-war, it was around £250 or so. Why is it still do ridiculously high?

The dollar is still very high.

I've been keeping an eye on it for the past few months and the price has barely moved.

Its moved a fair bit over the last year.

Reed_Richards

Think yourself lucky.  Even at £1 per litre, heating oil would now be marginally cheaper than mains gas. 

smallblueplanet

There has been another big jump in heating oil prices - both on BoilerJuice and my local supplier Vale Oils - in the past day/2 days.

Is this all profiteering over a bit of bad weather and the Christmas break? 

500l price has jumped by about £60 on a 10 day delivery. 

STANDARD - (up to 10 working days) - delivery by 20-Dec-2022 Item Qty Price Total (06) Kerosene 500 £0.8043 £402.15 Delivery: £0.00 Tax: £20.11 Quoted total: £422.26

STANDARD - (up to 10 working days) - delivery by 28-Dec-2022 Item Qty Price Total (06) Kerosene 500 £0.9168 £458.40 Delivery: £0.00 Tax: £22.92 Quoted total: £481.32

Why?

GingerTim

Greater demand lessens supply during a cold snap? Seems quite unsurprising that prices would rise in this sort of weather.

smallblueplanet

GingerTim said:

Greater demand lessens supply during a cold snap? Seems quite unsurprising that prices would rise in this sort of weather.

Oh come on, greater demand as opposed to having no choice where to buy. This sort of weather? It is winter, and next week is forecast to be warmer!

MattMattMattUK

smallblueplanet said:

GingerTim said:

Greater demand lessens supply during a cold snap? Seems quite unsurprising that prices would rise in this sort of weather.

Oh come on, greater demand as opposed to having no choice where to buy. This sort of weather? It is winter, and next week is forecast to be warmer!

Most people do not run their tanks down to zero though, so have the choice of when and where they buy their oil from. Waiting right until the last minute to refill is always going to be a bad idea, as is buying 500 L vs 1,000 L where there seems to be a 20-25p price difference per litre at the moment.

smallblueplanet

MattMattMattUK said:

smallblueplanet said:

GingerTim said:

Greater demand lessens supply during a cold snap? Seems quite unsurprising that prices would rise in this sort of weather.

Oh come on, greater demand as opposed to having no choice where to buy. This sort of weather? It is winter, and next week is forecast to be warmer!

Most people do not run their tanks down to zero though, so have the choice of when and where they buy their oil from. Waiting right until the last minute to refill is always going to be a bad idea, as is buying 500 L vs 1,000 L where there seems to be a 20-25p price difference per litre at the moment.

Glad you can afford 1000l on refill. Plus not everyone's tank will be that big.

I've had oil heating for over 18 years, I know how it works!

There's a difference of 6 days in those prices I quoted - look at the oil prices, hardly any change, well except a fall! This thread is about prices being too high and this is definitely what it is with this. Profiteeering.