Crude Oil Higher; Caution Remains Despite Improved Risk Appetite By Investing.com – Investing.com

Crude Oil Higher; Caution Remains Despite Improved Risk Appetite By Investing.com – Investing.com

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By Peter Nurse   

Investing.com -- Oil prices pushed higher Tuesday, helped by an improvement in risk appetite, but a degree of caution remains given the rapid spread of Covid cases around the globe, led by the Omicron variant. 

By 9:10 AM ET (1410 GMT), futures traded 2.5% higher at $70.33 a barrel, and the contract rose 2.3% to $73.13.

U.S. Gasoline RBOB Futures were up 2.1% at $2.1336 a gallon.

Helping the tone Tuesday was the news from Moderna (NASDAQ:) that the U.S. drugmaker could develop a booster shot to protect against the Omicron variant in a relatively short period.

"It only needs minor adjustments for Omicron. I don't expect any problems," CEO Stephane Bancel said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper TagesAnzeiger published on Tuesday.

Additionally, the sight of power stations in Europe starting up their fuel oil-burning units for the first time in years as freezing weather sets in boosted sentiment. 

Energy prices have spiraled this year, with European gas surging more than 600% as Russia limited flows through a major transit route to Germany. The route is set to be only partially used in January.

However, these gains