SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices rose on Wednesday, as major producers prepared to discuss how to respond to the threat of a hit to fuel demand from the Omicron variant.
Brent crude futures rose $2.26 to $71.49 a barrel at 0601 GMT, after a 3.9% slump on Tuesday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $2.01 to $68.19 per barrel, after a 5.4% drop on Tuesday.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet on Wednesday after 1300 GMT and ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ on Thursday.
OPEC+ groups OPEC, Russia and their allies.
“Since [the] U.S. and other countries agreed on releasing emergency stocks to control the price rise… also since the prices have already corrected from $85 a barrel to close to $70, OPEC+ may revisit their strategy,” Reuters quoted Sunil Katke, head of commodities retail business at Kotak Securities, as saying.
“There is a possibility of that happening, considering the new coronavirus variant and its impact on global demand, especially in the aviation sector.”
