US heating oil demand keeps diesel high

24/11/2008

Falls in the price of petrol have not been matched for diesel customers because of high demand for heating oil in the US, it has been claimed.

According to Edmund King, president of the AA, it has been difficult for suppliers to lower prices because the demand for heating oil in the US is keeping wholesale DERV prices high.

His comments came as petrol prices fell below 90p a litre for the first time in 18 months.

This amounts to a 25 per cent drop since the high point for petrol and DERV prices during the summer.

Prices for a range of derivatives including DERV and heating oil were all bolstered by dramatic increases in the price of oil.

It reached a record $147 a barrel on July 11th.

However, it has now lost nearly two-thirds of it value and is currently trading around the $50 (£33) mark.

Mr King pointed out that DERV customers in the UK were not feeling the full effect of this price slump because of the increased demand for heating oil during the colder months.