Heating oil prices.
Simply compared.Heating oil prices.
Simply compared.

President Trump met Qatar's prime minister at the White House on Monday and afterwards called the war with Iran 'effectively over' militarily, though he is keeping America's blockade of Iranian ports in place. Qatar, which carries messages between the two sides, said on Tuesday it had seen progress but could not say how close a deal is. Crude oil fell below $90 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since August. It climbed back on Wednesday when Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, denied that any talks were taking place, and slipped again on Thursday on hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine, even though this week's talks in Abu Dhabi ended without one. Diesel has held up better than crude, which matters here because UK heating oil follows diesel and jet fuel, made in the same part of the refinery. Ukrainian drones have disrupted refineries that handle about 30% of Russia's oil since late October, and on Wednesday they set fire to Ust-Luga, Russia's main oil export port on the Baltic.

Your next fill. At Fueltool's UK average today, a 1,000-litre fill costs about £1,080 including VAT, the cheapest since early September. That is roughly £20 less than at Monday's brief and roughly £20 less than a week ago, as the fall in crude since the start of November keeps feeding through.

What to watch. Whether America replies to the conditions Iran has sent through Qatar, and whether ships keep getting through the Strait of Hormuz, the sea lane that carries about a fifth of the world's oil. Whether Ukraine keeps hitting Russian refineries and ports. And the suspension of the 4% tariff on imported heating oil, which starts on 26 November.