Home heating oil prices in Northern Ireland stood at around £1,100 for 900 litres from competitive suppliers as of last night. This exceeds the Thursday-to-Thursday provincial average of £1,037.

Prices reached £1.20 per litre after a brief dip on Wednesday and Thursday. The uptick followed uncertainty over an end to conflict involving Iran.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer noted during a visit to Northern Ireland that two-thirds of households here depend on oil for heating. This reliance exceeds that in other UK regions, where the figure stands at about 4% in England.

Northern Ireland households face higher vulnerability to oil price swings than elsewhere in the UK.