Oil gains as investors see limited Omicron impact on demand | Reuters

Oil gains as investors see limited Omicron impact on demand | Reuters

Oil prices extended their rally on Monday as investor appetite improved amid growing relief the Omicron coronavirus variant may not cause severe illness and will likely have a limited impact on global fuel demand.

Brent futures climbed 72 cents, or 1.0%, to $75.87 a barrel by 0744 GMT, after rising 1% on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 85 cents, or 1.2%, to $72.52 a barrel, following a 1% increase in the previous session.

Both benchmarks posted gains of about 8% last week, their first weekly gain in seven. They have recovered more than half the losses suffered since Omicron headlines first hit Nov. 25.