Buoyed by the ongoing output cuts spearheaded by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia, the price of Brent crude on Monday hit the $70 per barrel mark.

The price increase was also influenced by the decision of major stakeholders in the oil sector to ignore the rise in oil production in the United States as well as the increasing drilling activities in Canada which indicated a future increase in output in North America.

The cuts in production output which started in January last year and was expected to last through 2018 coincided with a healthy demand growth necessitated by political risk, therefore pushing up crude prices by more than 13 percent since December, 2017.

The high prizes for crude which is the most important stock in the petroleum industry has also had adverse effect on the profits made by oil refiners.