'I fear for wee families' - home heating oil jumps £100 in three weeks

'I fear for wee families' - home heating oil jumps £100 in three weeksImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, After a period of respite home heating oil prices in Northern Ireland have climbedByEve HughesBBC News NIPublishedJust nowThe price of home heating oil is on the rise again after a period of respite.Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (CCNI) figures show that in just three weeks the average cost of 500 litres of home heating oil has jumped from £346.59 to £445.37 – an increase of £98.78 (29%).The organisation's Raymond Gormley said the price rise is in response to the escalation of fighting between the US and Iran.About two thirds of Northern Ireland households use home heating oil, by far the highest of any UK region.Home heating oil prices peaked at £612.37 for 500 litres on average in April and had dropped to a low of £346.59 for the same amount earlier this month.The most recent CCNI figures, external show 300 litres of home heating oil costs an average £276.23 – up from £216.44 on 2 July.A delivery of 900 litres now costs an average of £789.07 – an increase of £173.84 since 2 July.'You can't buy £40 worth of oil'Image caption, Agnes, pictured with her granddaughter Abbie, said the price of gas is now "on par" with home heating oilSpeaking to BBC News NI in Belfast city centre, Agnes Jackson said she is concerned about the general cost of living."I really do fear for wee families," she said.Agnes said she switched from oil to gas in recent years as it was cheaper but "now it's on par".She added that before making the switch, she had to be decisive about the household spending."For oil it wasn't as if you could go and buy it like gas at £40 - it was hundreds supplying oil," said Agnes.Image caption, Rosie and Patrick McGivern said the price increase is "terrible"Having bought oil before May when prices were high, Rosie and Patrick McGivern say they are concerned a...