Oil rises as investors focus on OPEC+ decision amid growing Omicron fears | Reuters

Oil rises as investors focus on OPEC+ decision amid growing Omicron fears | Reuters

Oil prices rose on Thursday, more than recouping the previous day's losses, as investors adjusted positions ahead of an OPEC+ decision over supply policy, but gains were capped amid fears the Omicron coronavirus variant will hurt fuel demand.

Brent crude futures rose $1.24, or 1.8%, to $70.11 by 0748 GMT, having eased 0.5% in the previous session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.13, or 1.7%, to $66.70 a barrel, after a 0.9% drop on Wednesday.

"Investors unwound their positions ahead of the OPEC+ decision as oil prices have declined so fast and so much over the past week," said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.