Two readings, two units, two currencies and two different fuels. This page reconciles all four, and it does the exchange rate part in a way that does not require pretending we know today's rate to four decimal places.
DESNZ Quarterly Energy Prices / QEP 4.1.1 standard grade burning oil / published 27 August 2026 / checked 23 September 2026 / lag 27 daysone to four weeks oldtier A
Typical price for a delivery of up to 1,000 litres, VAT at 5% included. Observed on the Monday nearest the 15th.
EIA State Heating Oil and Propane Program / W_EPD2F_PRS_NUS_DPG / published 30 March 2026 / checked 23 September 2026 / lag 177 daysthree to six months oldtier A
Last in-season print. The survey pauses after March and resumes in October, so this figure ages all summer.
Why there is no single exchange rate on this page
We did not retrieve a Bank of England spot rate on 23 September 2026, so we are not going to print one as though we had. Instead the conversion is shown across a band. The band is arithmetic. A single rate would be a claim, and it would be stale within hours anyway.
| Dollars per pound | UK 90.01p becomes | US $5.54 becomes | Which market is dearer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.20 | $4.09 a gallon | 121.85p a litre | United States |
| 1.25 | $4.26 a gallon | 116.98p a litre | United States |
| 1.30 | $4.43 a gallon | 112.48p a litre | United States |
| 1.35 | $4.60 a gallon | 108.31p a litre | United States |
| 1.40 | $4.77 a gallon | 104.44p a litre | United States |
The tax difference, which is larger than the currency one
The UK figure includes VAT at 5%. Strip it out and the British fuel is 85.72p a litre, with 4.29p of tax on top. UK heating kerosene carries no fuel duty at all. The American residential survey price includes state taxes where they apply, and those vary by state rather than being uniform.
On a 1,200 litre British order the VAT is GBP 51.48. That is the single largest identifiable policy component in either market's household price, and it is the one people ask about least.
The fuel is not the same fuel
| United Kingdom | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | 28 second kerosene, standard grade burning oil | No. 2 distillate |
| Unit sold in | Litres | US gallons |
| Energy content | About 10.452 kWh a litre | About 40.59 kWh a gallon |
| Consumption tax | VAT at 5%, no fuel duty | State taxes, varying by state |
| Mandated blend | None | Rising biodiesel requirement in some states |
| Official price series | Monthly, national only | Weekly by state, October to March only |
| Regional survey | Northern Ireland only, weekly | Several states run their own |
Normalised to heat
The only comparison that is genuinely like for like is per unit of heat. UK kerosene at 90.01p delivers gross heat at 8.61p a kilowatt hour. US No. 2 at $5.54 delivers it at $0.14 a kilowatt hour, which at 1.30 dollars to the pound is 10.49p.
On heat delivered, the American household is paying materially more for the same warmth.
Both readings carry very different lags. The British figure is 27 days old and the American one is 177 days old, because the American survey pauses from April to September. Comparing them is comparing the last two things published, not two contemporaneous prices, and that caveat travels with every number on this page.
Primary sources for this page
- DESNZ Quarterly Energy Prices, table 4.1.1Monthly typical retail price of standard grade burning oil, the fuel sold to UK households as kerosene. Priced on the Monday nearest the 15th of the month, for deliveries of up to 1,000 litres, VAT at 5% included. This is the only official UK-wide domestic heating oil price series.
- EIA State Heating Oil and Propane ProgramWeekly residential delivered price of No. 2 heating oil, national and by state. Collected October to March. The survey pauses after the last March print and resumes in October, which is why every federal page shows March data all summer.
- Bank of England statistical databaseSterling exchange rate used on the UK against US comparison page.
- VAT rates on domestic fuel and powerDomestic heating oil is charged at the reduced rate of 5% on qualifying quantities.