The average cost of home heating oil has fallen slightly in Northern Ireland in the past week while petrol and diesel costs have moved up, according to the latest research.
The NI Consumer Council said the average cost of 300 litres of home heating oil had gone down by just over £2 since last week to a price of £205.76.
However petrol and diesel costs have continued to increase after generally rising since the start of the new year.
Diesel is almost 2p per litre more expensive on average in Northern Ireland than last week, sitting at 138.6p per litre, while petrol has gone up just over 1p per litre to 132.4p.
Home heating oil prices have been trending upwards in recent weeks, with the cost of 300 litres up £20 since mid-December.
And 500 litres has increased by almost £40 while 900 litres has risen by close to £50 from the same date.
The past week has seen a slight reversal of this trend. The average price of a 300 litre fill-up is down from over £208 to under £206 today, while a 500 litre purchase is now £317.58 after costing £319.91 last week. And 900 litres now costs an average of £554.81, down from £555.97.
Derry City and Strabane remains the best council area in NI for consumers looking to get a good deal on home heating oil. In that council area, 300 litres of fuel is £1.55 below the national average, 500 litres is £2.65 less and 900 litres of oil is £3.29 cheaper.
By contrast, buyers in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon are paying around £1.89 more than most for 300 litres and 500 litres of fuel, while in Newry, Mourne and Down, a 900 litre purchase will cost £2.74 more.
The cost of vehicle fuel has also continued the slow rise it began in October. Petrol is up around 2p per litre since then, and diesel is about 5p more expensive.
Consumers have become accustomed to fuel volatility in the years since the price shock that occurred when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Petrol and diesel prices shot up by around 50p a litre to sit near 190p in the middle months of that year.
Prices have since fallen below the levels seen at the start of 2022, however they remain close to 20p per litre higher than the prices recorded for July 2020.