'Perfect storm' sees heating oil price nearly double in year, with petrol and diesel at four-year high
Customers “can’t afford” the price of heating oil which has nearly doubled in price in a year due to a “perfect storm” of world events.
Yesterday suppliers in East Yorkshire were offering between £1,080 and £1,171, including VAT, for 1,000 litres of kerosene.
Before the US attack on Iran, 1,000 litres of kerosene typically cost between £600 and £700.
In the immediate wake of the conflict's outbreak in March, prices skyrocketed to around £1,240 and £1,370, before falling back again.
It comes as the cost of filling a family car has risen by almost £5 since the start of September.
According to the RAC, the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts reached 170.54p on Tuesday, while diesel climbed to 192.86p.
The price of diesel is now at its highest since July 29 2022, while petrol prices have not been this high since August 23 2022.
Meanwhile 135,000 homes in Yorkshire rely on heating oil, particularly in North and East Yorkshire where many homes lack mains gas connections.
A supplier to the Hull area said prices were “massively inflated due to no oil coming out of Iran and surrounding areas”, adding: “It’s like anything else – if it’s in short supply naturally the price goes up. Our customers are trying not to use the oil, and when they do they are using it sparingly. It’s fairly dire straits – customers can’t afford it.
"Our volumes are down which impacts the bottom line.
"It’s a bit of a perfect storm, the Iran conflict, the Houthis messing around in the Red Sea bombing pipelines, Ukraine and Russia and US oil reserves falling to new lows.” Prices look set to continue rising as the cost of a barrel of oil is now consistently trading over 100 dollars.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Since the start of this month, the cost of filling a family car has already risen by almost £5, to £94 for petrol and £106 for diesel,” he said. So the pressure on the Chancellor to act to support households, so many of whom are dependent on the car, is building."