Oil prices rose on Thursday, pushing their gains for the fourth session on positive comments from vaccine manufacturers on the variant, even as some countries increased restrictions to stem the rapid spread of Omicron.
Brent crude futures rose 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $76.22 a barrel at 0455 GMT and posted a similar gain on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 52 cents, or 0.7%, to $72.88, after gaining 0.4% in the previous session.
Markets were buoyed by comments from BioNTech and Pfizer that a three-step course of COVID-19 vaccines could protect against infection from the Omicron variant.
However, market gains decreased as governments reimpose restrictions to limit the spread of Omicron, including when the UK orders people to work from home again, Denmark closes restaurants, bars and schools, and China halts group tourist trips from Guangdong.
South Korea is seeing record infections, with cases are high in Singapore and Australia.
In this sense, it would not be correct to say that the demand risks have completely decreased.
The Omicron outbreak led to a 16% drop in Brent prices from November 25 to December 1. More than half of the decline was offset this week, but analysts say further recovery may be limited until Omicron’s impact becomes clearer.
Investors are struggling to find a direction, with signs such as the uncertainty about supply increases from OPEC and its allies, including Russia, and the stagnation in market prices.
Regarding the Iran dialogue, the United States and Israel are expected to discuss possible military exercises on Thursday that will prepare for the worst-case scenario of destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities if deemed appropriate after diplomacy fails.
Early winter storms in southern Russia hamper oil operations in Black Sea ports, delay cargoes and increase costs.