Simon Bainbridge, the North East representative for the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), said: “I lot of my neighbours are ringing me up and saying, ‘Have you seen the price of heating oil?'”
“It’s still really cold, this is really worrying for people in rural areas who often live in poorly insulated houses.
“But given a lot of the oil would have been bought before this crisis, I do wonder if there’s a bit of profiteering going on?”
The UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association Ltd (UKIFDA) said the main market driver of heating oil was the wholesale price of jet fuel.
“At least 40% of Europe’s jet fuel came from the Middle East in 2025 via the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently blocked and the wholesale price has more than doubled,” it said.
“Most distributors hold no more than two days of supply and collect fuel from refineries or terminals at the market price almost daily.”