SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices rose on Tuesday on hopes that the Omicron coronavirus variant will have a limited impact on fuel demand.
Brent crude futures rose 8 cents to $78.68 a barrel by 0537 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped 17 cents to $75.74 per barrel.
“Worries regarding Omicron area easing across the globe, resulting in some optimism over demand … Prices are expected to trade positive bias,” Reuters quoted head of commodities at Swastika Investment Ltd. Abhishek Shauhan as saying.
Oil prices have risen around 50% this year, supported by recovering demand and supply cuts by OPEC and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+.
Investors are awaiting an OPEC+ meeting on January 4, at which the alliance will decide whether to go ahead with a planned 400,000 barrels-per-day production increase in February, Reuters reported.
At its last meeting, OPEC+ stuck to its plans to boost output for January despite Omicron.
