Monday 7th December 2020
Standard heating oil delivery slots are filling up fast.
Cold weather and the Christmas rush is having a big effect on logistics and prices. Our concerns are for delivery delays leading up to Christmas which started much earlier than last year due to Covid-19 and colder weather.
Ultimately Christmas deliveries do put pressure on distributors. We highly recommend getting heating oil quotes much earlier this year.
Market Trends
Oil prices rose on Friday 3rd December after OPEC+ members compromised and agreed to a partial increase in production beginning in January 2021, preventing a breakdown in the agreement. Brent crude inched closer to the $50 per barrel in a sign of confidence in the deal.
Opec+ also agreed to meet monthly going forward in early 2021 to assess the health of the market. The deal was not as bullish as market analysts had expected, but neither was it a failure. The reaction in oil prices suggests OPEC+ did enough to maintain market stability.
As Coronavirus cases continue to surge in the U.S. and Europe, the UK was first to announce a vaccine approval. The country is rolling out an immunisation program starting this coming week as the country moves from a one month lockdown to a tiered system.
Oil prices are now trading in a much better range and have surged but not yet crossed the $50 marker which inevitably will push downstream products up in price.
UK Market Trends
Standard heating oil delivery slots are filling up fast. Festivities at this time of year puts a big strain on all heating oil distributors. At the same time heating oil customers leave it till the last minute to order their Christmas and winter fuel.
A combination of delay and wait tactics combined with higher crude prices has sent local heating oil prices in ther UK soaring. Under these conditions circumstances distributor heating oil prices are 7ppl dearer than September.
The good news is they are still 35% cheaper than for the same period last year. Bargains are now hard to find.
Although prices continue to be at an all time 4 Year low, we see further demand for heating oil increasing as the weather becomes colder. Buy heating oil now and fill up.
At this moment in time, we see distributor prices gradually rising during the next 10 days. Most distributors are quoting between 30ppl to 38ppl.
UK Regional Analysis
UK heating oil prices have increased by 5.66% 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 1.83ppl finishing up today at 34.17ppl.
At the moment distributor heating oil prices are trending up.
England – average prices rose by 2.20ppl to 35.36ppl.
Wales – average prices rose by 1.90ppl to 35.47ppl.
Scotland – average prices rose by 1.41ppl to 37.49ppl.
Northern Ireland – average prices rose by 1.20ppl to 30.64ppl.
Standard heating oil delivery slots are filling up fast. At the present time when prices are rising we recommend checking in on our twitter feed and website. You can request multiple quotes from heatingoilshop.com on a regular basis to avoid any possible imminent price rises.
Distributor Analysis
During the last 7 days, UK heating oil prices have risen by 5.66% this week. This amounts to an average rise of 1.83ppl after adjustment and vat.
Heating oil prices are now trending up as crude prices attempt to past the $50 mark.
At this moment in time, we see domestic prices rising in the next two weeks due to increased crude prices, delivery days and continued cold spells.
As of today, the UK heating Oil price of 34.17ppl is 18.28ppl lower than this day a year ago. Not only that, 4 years ago the price was 42.66ppl, 8.49ppl dearer. As such, this is a great opportunity to reduce heating 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 are moving 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.
Distributor vs Broker Analysis
Average prices for distributors rose 1.83ppl to 34.17ppl on the week. Similarly, average broker prices also rose by 2.34ppl to 36.35ppl.
The difference between average distributor heating oil prices versus average online heating oil broker prices today is 2.18ppl 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
Average broker prices are down to 36.35ppl today. As you can see from the graph below, some brokers are much more expensive than others. But, today there is a 8.16ppl 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.
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
Buying heating oil is all about timing! You would be better off comparing prices from heating oil distributors in your area by using our site heatingoilshop.com.
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
Standard heating oil delivery slots are filling up fast. We are encouraging all customers to get heating oil quotes & order ahead where possible. A combination of dropping temperatures, tiered lockdowns & festivities combined will result in longer delivery times & higher prices.
The coming week should see a steady rises in heating oil prices. There may be another resurgence in crude oil prices during the 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.
