SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices fell on Tuesday due to investor worries about demand after renewed restrictions were imposed in Europe and Asia amid a rise in coronavirus cases.
Brent crude futures fell 5 cents to $74.34 a barrel by 0555 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped by 8 cents to $71.21 per barrel.
“Energy traders don’t want to bet against OPEC+ but all the short-term risks from Omicron to Fed tightening is proving to be very disruptive to the short-term outlook for oil prices,” Reuters cited Edward Moya, senior analyst at OANDA, as saying.
“The virus spread across Europe is delivering a bigger hit than expected and when you calculate family gatherings for the holidays, the short-term outlook could get slashed over the next month.”
Governments around the world, including most recently Britain and Norway, were tightening restrictions to stop the spread of the Omicron variant, according to Reuters.
In China, major manufacturing province Zhejiang is fighting its coronavirus cluster this year, with tens of thousands of citizens in quarantine and virus-hit areas suspending business operations, cutting flights and canceling events.
