AIB Group chief economist Colin Hunt cautioned investors not to read too much into the recent dip in oil prices. He told Bloomberg TV that the brief moderation, with Brent around $81.50 a barrel, follows a three‑day closure of the Strait of Hormuz that lifted energy costs and fed Eurozone inflation. Hunt said the data window is too narrow to signal lasting growth for Ireland now.

Despite the oil shock, Ireland’s economy is projected to outpace many EU peers, buoyed by multinationals such as Meta and Apple. AIB’s May outlook expects domestic demand, stripped of foreign corporate activity, to decelerate from 4.9% in 2025 to 2.7% in 2026. The bank still firmly forecasts overall growth slowing this year as higher costs curb consumer spending.

Hunt warned that repeated “black‑swans” – Brexit, the Ukraine war and now the Middle East flare‑up – keep Ireland vulnerable, and that AI‑driven efficiency gains could trim jobs in the tech hub. He stressed AIB’s view that any oil‑price relief is temporary, leaving policymakers to manage inflation without relying on a swift reopening of the strait in Europe.