David Blevings, spokesperson for NIOF said, “Oil prices are falling sharply on the back of decreasing demand and increasing stocks. With most countries introducing isolation tactics and closing non-essential businesses we are starting to see signs of distress in the oil market with oil stocks surging and demand falling sharply.
The drop in price is good news for consumers. Since April 2019 we have seen a reduction in prices of c.40% on the average retail price of 900 litres of heating oil*.
As the global cost of oil falls this feeds through into refined, wholesale and then retail prices for home heating oil and road fuels which is excellent news for consumers here in Northern Ireland.
Most pundits are predicting that Crude will settle at $35-45/barrel following the recent agreement to reduce supply but with no sign of a plan to restart the world economy this number could be still some way off.
While price is one factor in choosing your distributor we would always advocate that consumers should use distributors that have a recognised customer charter in place offering a framework for delivery standards and clear complaints procedure. All NIOF members have signed up to a customer charter which is supported by the Consumer Council and customers can ask for a copy of this documentation or download it from the www.nioil.com website,” added David.