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 oil futures eased by 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $74.05 a barrel by 0401 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $70.94.
“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,” said Edward Moya, senior analyst at OANDA.
“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.”
