Saturday 14th November2020
Heating oil prices rise as Christmas rush starts, lockdown prevails and possible delivery delays as colder weather approaches.
Our concerns are for delivery delays leading up to Christmas starting much earlier than last year due to Covid-19. For the most part, we sincerley hope this will not be the case. But ultimately Christmas deliveries do put pressure on distributors. We highly recommend getting heating oil quotes much earlier this year.
Market Trends
Oil prices surged early in the week on enormously optimistic vaccine news. But prices withered as the week wore on, as the short-term Covid-19 outlook continues to darken.
The vaccine won’t be widely available for months at the earliest. In the meantime, new partial stay-at-home orders are in place in Austria, France, Germany, the UK, and Portugal. All began implementing a wide variety of restrictions that will no doubt compound the oil demand problem.
Crude is still set to close out the week with price gains, but the short-run outlook is pessimistic.
Crude did recover slightly on Friday with Brent managing to reach $42.78. and WTI $40.12. Heating Oil is up on the week but closed down at $1.204.
UK Market Trends
Autumn distributor heating oil prices are still 41% cheaper than for the same period last year. Bargains are still to be had as we approach the Christmas festivities. However, as we edge towards Christmas and Winter we find prices are also moving up.
Heating oil prices rise as Christmas rush starts. Overall, heating oil distributor prices rose 1.17ppl on the week. The lowest price to be had was on Tuesday when it was 28.58ppl. Take note, the heating oil price trend is now rising in anticipation of colder weather and possible supply issues during lockdown. Make no mistake, colder weather is on its way late November early December. We feel prices will continue to rise gradually and in small amounts!
Although prices continue to be at an all time 4 Year low, demand for heating oil is rising. The good news today is that prices are around 41% cheaper than this time last year. Inevitably, as we see demand for heating oil increase as we approach Christmas so will prices and delivery delays if you dont act sooner bthan later. So, buy heating oil now and fill up.
Buying heating oil is all about timing! At this moment in time, we see distributor prices starting to gradually rise over the next 3 weeks. Most UK distributors are quoting between 25ppl to 30ppl depending on where you live.
UK Regional Analysis
UK heating oil prices have increased by 1.17% this week. Over the last 7 days there has been an increase in the average UK oil distributor heating oil prices on the week of 1.17ppl finishing up today at 29.80ppl.
At the moment distributor heating oil prices are trending up.
England – average prices rose by 1.62ppl to 31.01ppl.
Wales – average prices rose by 1.14ppl to 30.89ppl.
Scotland – average prices rose by 1.21ppl to 33.62ppl.
Northern Ireland – average prices rose by 0.29ppl to 26.18ppl.
Heating oil prices are starting to move up faster than expected. To keep advised on heating oil prices we recommend checking in on our twitter feed.
You can also request multiple quotes from heatingoilshop.com on a regular basis to avoid any possible imminent price rises. We’re not teaching our customers to suck eggs but always fill your heating oil tanks on lower prices.
Distributor Analysis
During the last 7 days, UK heating oil prices have risen by 4.09% this week. This amounts to an average rise of 1.17ppl after adjustment and vat.
For the time being, heating oil prices are now trending up. This has followed on from stock market and currency gains. At this moment in time, we see domestic prices possibly rising slightly until the Christmas rush starts.
We could also see prices rise due to delivery days and the anticipated colder spell at the end of the month.
Remarkably, crude oil prices floated higher all week, and fell back a tad on Friday. Growth in crude oil was much better this week primarily due to stock market and currency gains. As Christmas is looming the traditional rush to fill tanks has started slowly. So expect higher heating oil prices as we nudge towards Christmas.
As of today, the UK heating Oil price of 29.80ppl is 20.78ppl lower than this day a year ago. Not only that, 4 years ago the price was 37.88ppl, 8.08ppl dearer. As such, this is a great opportunity to reduce heating (and cooking) costs subsatantially. Take full advantage of the lower prices now. Buy heating oil now as cold weather is on its way!
The major key deciding factors on prices in the coming weeks will still be the price of crude oil. Availability of product, colder weather and delivery issues will play a major role in low heating oil prices continuing.
Heating oil prices have started to move up so keep an eye on your local price situation. Get multiple heating oil quotes from heatingoilshop.com. Regularly check your tank & make sure you do not run out and top up where necessary. Save money by getting quotes from a heatingoilshop.com distributor and not incentivised brokers.
Be aware that lockdown may cause heating oil delivery delays so anticpate buying fuel well in advance.
Distributor vs Broker Analysis
Average prices for distributors rose 1.17ppl to 29.80ppl on the week. Similarly, average broker prices fell by 1.43ppl to 32.21ppl.
The difference between average distributor heating oil prices versus average online heating oil broker prices today is 1.32ppl inc vat.
Savings fluctuate and depend on your postcode and any other charges made by brokers.
For instance Boilerjuice™ charge an additional £3.49 and is applied to each order of heating oil or gas oil (red diesel) placed on their website or over the telephone. Furthermore, they do not tell you their commission rate as it is calculated into the PPL. So always check your final total. There are many bargains out there, especially from suppliers. Remember, savings can change in an instant!
Today’s Broker Analysis
Heating oil prices rise have started to rise. Despite this, average broker prices are down to 32.21ppl today. As you can see from the graph below, some brokers are much more expensive than others. But, today there is only 4.51ppl difference separating the higher and lower priced brokers in our random postcode check.
Consequently, and fortunately for you, there are plenty of cheaper heating oil bargains from distributors around the country.
Price difference calculations are based on 1000 litres delivered in 5 days to the same randomly picked postcode.
In today’s case you would be paying as much as 1.78ppl or £17.80 more on your 1000 litre order.
For this reason, do you really want to pay over the odds by using higher priced brokers? We’ll let you decide for yourselves. (All prices include VAT and are subject to regional and postcode variations).
Avoid Brokers
Lockdown may cause heating oil delivery delays due to Covid 19. Buying heating oil is all about timing! You would be better off comparing prices from heating oil distributors in your area by using heatingoilshop.com and getting it delivered on time.
Remember, prices and savings change regularly and are delivery postcode dependant.
Heating oil brokers charge a variety of commissions, surcharges & admin charges or a mixture of all and these affect your final bill.
The graph above shows you seven-day prices for brokers. Some of these quotes include delivery charges, commission and admin charges. All of which push up the PPL exclusive of VAT price.
Fortunately for heating oil consumers there are plenty of Autumn heating oil bargains around the country.
Summary
Heating oil prices rise as Christmas approaches, lockdown prevails and possible heating oil delivery delays.
We are encouraging all customers to get heating oil quotes & order ahead where possible. A combination of dropping temperatures, lockdown & festivities combined may result in longer delivery times & higher prices.
The coming week should see a steady but minute rises in heating oil prices. However, we are reasonably certain there will not be any great resurgence in heating oil prices next week.
For current price trends, head on over to our main website at heatingoilshop.com and get multiple heating oil quotes from suppliers to your area.
Always check our daily postings on Twitter @ukheatingoils and keep up with prices and events. You are most welcome and encouraged to follow us.
We would like to draw your attention to an initiative by UKIFDA to keep our elderly, especially those over 75 years, comfotable this winter. You can read all about it here.
Also check out our post on heating oil tanks and new legislation regarding heating oil boilers. Every heating oil user must be aware of the these changes in legislation and costs associated with heating oil spills and leakages.
There is also a very nice piece about whether or not the heating oil is the cheapest fuel. Click here.
