Photograph: Sahar Al Attar/AFP via GettyUnrest in the Middle East has sent oil prices on an upward trajectory and left Irish consumers asking if this will hit them in their pockets. Natural gas prices also surged. A rise in natural gas prices will also hit consumers, as food production is a heavy energy user. Cassidy said rising gas prices will not result in “immediate increases” to household bills. While it often takes time for cheaper wholesale prices to come to the consumer, “the reverse is also true, whereby increases in wholesale prices are slow to trickle down”.

Source: The Irish Times March 03, 2026 06:17 UTC