John Whelan: Just how low could oil prices go?

Given Ireland’s dependence on crude imports, the country's economy will be boosted by a drop in oil prices and falling transport costs

Supplies resuming from Libya resulted in another sharp price drop last week.

Oil-price volatility continued last week, with the Brent crude-price-per-barrel, the bell-weather indicator, dropping down to $73 (€66), from €81 (€73) the previous week. 

The unexpected price drop is due to the apparent resolution of the Libyan supply blockage, analysts say. Any stop-starts in oil output from Libya, which has the largest crude-oil well reserves in Africa, have a significant impact on global oil prices.