Oil eases on worries Omicron could reduce demand | Reuters

Oil eases on worries Omicron could reduce demand | Reuters

Oil futures eased on Monday on worries that rising coronavirus cases around the world could reduce crude demand as new doubts emerged about the effectiveness of vaccines against the Omicron variant.

Brent futures fell 76 cents, or 1.0%, to settle at $74.39 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 38 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $71.29.

The Omicron variant, reported in more than 60 countries, poses a "very high" global risk, with some evidence that it evades vaccine protection, according to the World Health Organization. read more

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its world oil demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022 but left its full-year growth prediction steady, saying the Omicron variant would have a mild impact as the world gets used to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. read more