Oil gains on bets OPEC+ will pause output hike

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday, extending a rebound from last week’s plunge on growing expectations major producers would pause plans to add crude supply in January amid uncertainty over the severity of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Brent crude futures climbed 43 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $73.91 a barrel at 0418GMT after gaining 1 per cent on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures jumped 73 cents, or 1 per cent, to $70.68 a barrel, adding to a 2.6 per cent rise on Monday.

Oil plunged around 12 per cent on Friday along with other markets on fears the heavily mutated Omicron would spark fresh lockdowns and dent global growth.