US oil prices slump over 5% on Covid-19 vaccine efficacy worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices tumbled on Tuesday, with U.S. crude futures falling by more than 5%, after Moderna’s chief cast doubt on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against the Omicron coronavirus variant, spooking financial markets and heightening worries about oil demand.

The head of drugmaker Moderna Inc told the Financial Times that COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus as they have been against the Delta variant.

Brent crude futures fell $2.87, or 3.9%, to settle at $70.57 a barrel, after hitting an intraday low of $70.22, their lowest since August.