Oil was little changed in New York as traders weighed the risks from the omicron variant and OPEC boosted its forecast for global crude demand.
West Texas Intermediate futures traded near $71.60 a barrel after earlier rising at much as 1.9%. Confidence that fuel consumption will withstand the new virus strain — which propelled crude 8.2% higher last week–fluctuated.
Omicron dented the protection afforded by two doses of Pfizer Inc.’s and AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid vaccines as feared, according to University of Oxford researchers, while U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson declined to rule out further restrictions to contain the variant. Meanwhile, OPEC increased its forecast for global oil demand in the first quarter substantially.
“We’re at the end of the year, it’s very difficult to want to make a big bet either way,” said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Management. “People may want to do small things here or there, but it’s going to be more of a dance rather than step up and hit a home run.”
