Crude oil at $70 a barrel points to further increases in Irish energy bills in pipeline

Flogas the sixth supplier in Ireland to announce a price increase in the last two weeks

Oil tanker Minerva Kallisto with her cargo of crude oil from Texas prior to docking at Whitegate Oil Refinery in Cork Harbour. Picture: David Creedon, Anzenberger

The price of crude oil hovered at $70 a barrel, supported by production cuts by major oil producers and optimism about a demand recovery in the second half of the year, and signalling more pain to come for Irish households and businesses.

The global Brent benchmark is on track to end the week flat after prices touched a 13-month high on Monday, following seven straight weeks of gains.