Oil steadies near $75 as investors assess Omicron’s impact
Oil prices steadied near $75 a barrel on Wednesday, taking a breather after strong gains earlier this week, as investors continued to assess the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant on the global economy and fuel demand.
Brent crude futures dropped 19 cents, or 0.25%, to $75.25 a barrel at 0925 GMT, after settling 3.2% higher on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $71.78 a barrel, down 27 cents or 0.4%, having gained 3.7% in the previous session.
After dropping by over 16% since Nov. 25 to around $69 a barrel, Brent crude prices rebounded by nearly 10% since Dec. 1 on signs Omicron has had only a limited impact on oil demand so far.
