Brent was down 4.9% at $ 69.61 a barrel, an intraday low since August 24. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 5.3% at $ 66.33 a barrel.
The chief executive of drug maker Moderna said COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against omicron as they have been against previous variants.
Also, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said this Tuesday that it would be appropriate for the central bank to consider completing its reduction of large-scale bond purchases more quickly based on the strength of the economy and the high rate of inflation.
The Fed began its reduction in asset purchases earlier this month and announced a program to complete it by mid-year, but it is expected to review that timeline at its next monetary policy meeting in two weeks. Powell’s comment came during a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.
Oil slumped 12% on Friday along with other markets on fears that omicron will lead to new quarantines and affect global demand for crude. It is not yet clear how severe the new variant is.
With a weakened demand outlook, Expectations are growing that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and its allies, together called OPEC +, will suspend plans to add 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) to supply in January.
Source From: Ambito
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