Oil prices steady as Omicron caution lingers | Reuters

Oil prices steady as Omicron caution lingers | Reuters

Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as fears of tight supply were offset by COVID-19 concerns after Singapore suspended quarantine-free travel and Australia renewed its vaccination push due to a surge in Omicron variant cases.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were unchanged at $71.12 a barrel at 1250 GMT after jumping 3.7% on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures fell 15 cents, or 0.20%, to $73.83 a barrel after gaining 3.4% in the last session.

"The bias is positive over optimistic updates from vaccine maker Moderna ... however the upside looks limited as investors seem to be exercising caution over Omicron-related restrictions," said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.