Concerns over the price of home heating and motor fuels loomed large on the minds of consumers on Shop Street in Galway today.
Incremental increases at garage forecourts for a litre of petrol or diesel have already been noticed, but the scale of hikes for kerosene oil since the weekend are of greater concern.
Local businessman Mike Lally described his experience in recent days as "ridiculous".
As he calls up a screengrab on his mobile, and details how he went about pricing oil for his mother's tank on Monday evening, before checking again, in the 36 hours that followed.
"The night before last I priced it, and it was €1,180.
"Last night it was €1,380 and today, less than ten hours later, it has gone up €500, to €1,850," he said.
"It’s mad, and I can see at the pumps, diesel’s gone up, petrol’s gone up, people won’t be able to afford home heating oil.
"Overnight gone up €500 - how can they justify that? It’s crazy," he added.
Co Laois Farmer John Joe Grennan, said that he is burning wood and timber to heat his home and therefore is in some way insulated from such hikes.
He said that oil prices are going to affect him when it comes to sourcing fuel for machinery.
"I rang yesterday looking for diesel and it was gone up, I think, ten cent a litre already, since the weekend, that’s ridiculous - it’s going to leave [agricultural] contractors in a very bad way after a while," he said.
Mr Grennan contends that the Government "is doing nothing for the ordinary person".
That view is shared by Helena Donoghue, from the Newcastle area of Galway.
She feels that the Government should impress upon fuel suppliers the need to ensure there are not huge increases in the costs to be passed on to consumers.
"Bring them in, sit them down and say, 'Why are these prices going up all the time?’ And say: ‘No, put a stop on it.’ That they can say that. They can bring down the prices and have it there level for a while."
Ms Donogue said that otherwise there could be a situation where people would be forced into debt over fuel costs.
Elsewhere in the centre of Galway, Christopher Connolly from Ballinlough, Co Roscommon, was bracing himself for what might be in store.
He travels an hour and 20 minutes every day to get to work and says the turmoil in the Middle East inevitably means that a commodity like oil will increase in price.
"It’s going to hit the pocket I’d imagine," he said.
"I think it’s a concern for everybody, in the current climate, we all know the price of everything.
"The cost of housing, the cost of groceries. Now, to have fuel prices going up on top of it, it’s a huge concern for everybody."
Lloyd Wright, from Oughterard, Co Galway, has a more stoical view of the evolving situation.
He moved to Ireland from the US after retiring nine years ago and has since become a citizen here.
"The price of fuel comes up and it comes down. This will get resolved eventually in the Middle East and that will be how it goes," he said.
Mr Wright says he is not "a Trump fan" but feels the US President "will make sure this ends somehow because the Republicans will want to hold on to power in the States and if it doesn’t go well, they won’t be in power anymore and we’ll give the Democrats a chance to fix things over there".
