Oil prices little changed as OPEC+ sticks to regular output increase

(Reuters) -Oil prices were little changed, giving up most of their gains in volatile trading, as OPEC+ stuck to its policy of incrementally boosting output and the market considered the severity of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Brent crude futures were 29 cents, or 0.4%, higher at $69.19 a barrel by 1:38 p.m. ET (1839 GMT) while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $65.93.

U.S. front month contract traded volumes remained low, at about 267,000 – below the 200-day moving average and far lower than the last four days.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, decided on Thursday to release more oil into the market in January in line with previous months.