Oil prices mixed on Monday, Brent rose, U.S. crude futures fell after airlines canceled thousands of flights in the U.S. for the Christmas holiday amid growing COVID-19 infections.
Brent crude was up 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $76.34 a barrel as of 0510 GMT, after falling 0.92% on Friday.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 63 cents, or 0.9%, to $73.16 a barrel as of 0510 GMT. The contract was not traded on Friday as US markets were closed for the Christmas holiday.
Both contracts are up 3% to 4% in the last week after early data indicated that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 could cause a milder level of illness.
Oil prices have been hurt by Omicron concerns, but the downside pressure may ease if the variant proves to be milder.
However, the highly contagious variant is causing the number of COVID-19 cases to increase worldwide. Over the past three days, thousands of passengers traveling at Christmas have been stranded after US airlines canceled flights due to COVID-related staff shortages.
Market watchers said overall oil markets remain cautious about short-term demand.
While Omicron is spreading faster than any COVID-19 variant yet, regarding the relatively comforting news is that most people infected with Omicron are said to have had mild symptoms, at least so far.
In Europe, natural gas prices touched record highs last week on tight supplies, supporting Brent crude prices.
While the European Union blames Russia’s own policies alone for record gas prices, but some members are selling cheap Russian gas at much higher prices within the bloc, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
Oil investors are focused on the next OPEC+ meeting on January 4. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia, will meet to decide whether to go ahead with a 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) production increase in February.
Alexander Novak said on Friday that he believes oil prices will not change significantly next year and that it is only possible for demand to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022.