The recent declaration by President Trump that he will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal has caused crude oil prices to increase to over $77/tonne, a figure last seen at the tail end of 2014.
David Blevings, spokesperson for the Irish Petrol Retailers Association said, “Unfortunately the instability and concern around the Trump decision to withdraw from this deal has made traders nervous and is adding a premium to crude oil prices. In turn this is increasing the cost of wholesale fuel costs which has to be borne by retailers. We are seeing a 1 – 2cpl increase in local terms and this is unwelcome news for consumers and retailers who have no choice but to pass on increased costs.
The speculation that we could see $80/barrel by the summer looks like it could be achieved but we are hopeful that there will be a peaceful solution to the Middle East issue and with American shale production ramping up we would like to see prices back to the $50-60/barrel range by the end of the year”, added David