Oil Prices Ease as Investors Wait for More on Omicron’s Potential Impact

Oil Prices Ease as Investors Wait for More on Omicron’s Potential Impact

Pump jacks operate at sunset in Midland, Texas, US, February 11, 2019. REUTERS/Nick Oxford

Oil prices eased on Wednesday, taking a breather after gains earlier this week, as investors waited for more information on to what extent the Omicron coronavirus variant will likely hurt the global economy and fuel demand.

Brent crude futures dropped 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $75.04 a barrel at 0748 GMT, after settling 3.2% higher on Tuesday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $71.50 a barrel, down 55 cents or 0.8% having gained 3.7% in the previous session.

After a collapse last week, oil prices rebounded earlier this week on rising optimism that Omicron will not cause major economic damage.

"The recovery run took a break as investors tried to confirm full impact of the Omicron variant before buying further," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

The Omicron variant can partially evade the protection from two doses of Pfizer and partner BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, the research head of a laboratory at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

"Investors are still not fully optimistic and are taking a wait-and-see approach for now," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan