Heating oil price this morning = 52.13 pence, will it fall further?

[MM]

BoilerJuice is quoting 52.13 pence per litre for 500 litres as of

10:21 am on 22/Jun/12.

This is the lowest I've recorded since 31/Jan/2011.

Is it going to fall further?

MM

[Ian Jackson]

In message , MM writes

That's a good price. I paid 55p per litre in March 2011.

I've got a 600 gallon (2500 litre) tank, and my annual refill time is always in the spring. This year, I was hanging on in the hope that the astronomical all-time high prices would fall when the warmer weather arrived. In the middle of April, I thought I'd better order some - and paid a massive 76.5975p per litre (£1531.95 for a 2000 litre fill).

I've always considered having a partial fill, and shift the proper annual fill to the autumn. The problem is that, despite the present price drop, history shows that the overall trend is for prices to keep on rising. By delaying getting a complete fill, I risk paying more per litre when I DO fill up. And, of course, it won't affect just my first fill - it will be all the fills thereafter.

I'm not sure what the answer is.

[Huge]

FX: Waves.

Sigh.

[Huge]

Sweaters. Lots of sweaters.

[Davey]

I inherited the local domestic oil-buying syndicate, and we usually get a discount of about 3ppl or more off the current price when we order. We usually have a total of about 40,000 litres. 3p may not sound much, but over a year, it's a big saving. See if you have a syndicate near you. I agree with the comments in a different reply about most companies being group-owned, that has happened here in East Anglia in recent years. And most suppliers will not deliver an order of less than 500 litres.

[dennis]

July?

[S Viemeister]

And hot-water bottles.

[MM]

Thing is, my boiler uses very little oil in the summer months, and is only used now for hot water provision. I switch it on manually every morning for between 15 and 25 minutes and that gives me plenty of hot water for the day. As such, I reckon I still have weeks left in the tank.

But it'll be just my luck to postpone the top-up, and then get nearer the bottom and then the price will suddenly shoot up. I don't know why the price has fallen so much recently. Like I said initially, it's the cheapest since January 2011.

I also refer to

today points to a falling or even trend.

MM

[Tim Streater]

I thought they weren't allowed to by Trading Standards. Or is that just oil supplier b/s?

[The Natural Philosopher]

yes, for about two months.

Reasons are a mixture of political and financial...worldwide demand is down due to recession and japan restarting its reactors later this year, and the speculators have started to go short rather than long.

Also Saudi Arabia is in an interesting position which is so complex I cant really understand it myself.

Suggest you subscribe to the FT and read it up yourself.

[Dave Liquorice]

Just keep an eye on the price of crude, say from the commodities page on the BBC web site. And the various sites that will give a online quote price or the graphs.

When the price of crude starts to rise again keep a very close eye on the retail prices and when they start to rise, there is normally a week or so's lag, buy. You might not get the very bottom price but unless the price sky rockets you shouldn't do to badly.

Over a 25% reduction in the price of crude since end of March early April. it was >$125/barrrel it's now $90/barrel. Other oil products where also stupidly expensive at the begining of April, I paid 147p/l for supermarket diesel on the 13th April, today I paid 135p/l. With crude currently at $90/barrel I expect to see a bit more of a fall in pump prices but there is a 3.02p/l rise in duty due on 1 August...

[MM]

Well, two months sounds good! At the rate it's going down, it should be below 50p by then. I haven't bought any oil since August 2010 when I paid 38.5 pence a litre to Goff Petroleum.

MM

[Dave Liquorice]

Good grief! Assuming that was 500l like you are just looking for, is this for a holiday home? 500l in winter would last us a month if we are lucky.

07 Jun 2010 2000l 43.52 14 Dec 2010 1000l 54.50 20 Jan 2011 1000l 56.00 05 Mar 2011 2000l 56.52 01 Dec 2011 2000l 57.95 01 May 2012 2000l 58.67

That's 10,000l...

[Huge]

Jesus, what are you heating, a hotel? 1500 litres lasts us a year.

[dennis]

At 10 mpl it will only do about 100000 miles and that's in a smallish car.

[The Natural Philosopher]

big house here fully to 2000 insulatin standards. about 4000 liters a year..

If I heated ALL of it.

[Dave Liquorice]

Like TNP a big house and the half we normally live in, until late last year, had no effective wall insulation and was drafty (parts still are). Also being exposed and at 1400' doesn't help.

The only "leak" is via the 38kW output boiler, if it was near freezing or below with a bit of abreeze that would struggle to keep the place warm(*).

(*) I'm using the past tense as hopefully 50mm of celetoex lining on all external walls and fewer drafts will make a big reduction in the heat loss.

[Davey]

I don't know. 500 litres is small enough for just about everyone around here, so it isn't an issue. But it's on every website that I have looked at.

[MM]

No, the order in 2010 was for a staggering 1,000 litres! Lasts me for ages. I only use minimal heating. Don't like a hot house. I never heat any rooms I don't use regularly. If I only had water to heat, 1,000 litres would last me five years.

That's only a few hundred short of what I paid last September for my new Suzuki Alto!

Oh, indeed, I see the fuel deliveries up and down our street. Some people just like having the temperature turned up and can apparently afford to waste money. When I visit certain relatives they have the heating full on so that one can hardly breathe, then they open windows 'because it's so stuffy in here'.

MM

[MM]

But many, many houses *are* huge. I could drive to Boston or King's Lynn and pass dozens of them. Four or five-bed properties, even bigger ones, too. Massive. Built in the days when there were servants, plus large families.Take a look at a typical vicage from the Victorian era. We have one in our village. Last asking price was over £600,000 when 'ordinary' detached 3-beds are going for £150,000, if they sell at all, which they haven't been for the past four years.

MM