Oil up 5% as Omicron Scare Abates; Chance Remains for Swings By Investing.com – Investing.com

Oil up 5% as Omicron Scare Abates; Chance Remains for Swings By Investing.com – Investing.com

© Reuters.

By Barani Krishnan

Investing.com - Oil prices rose 4% in their strongest rebound since the outbreak of the Omicron scare, as longs returned to the market on seeing fewer negative headlines about the variant on Monday.

Also bolstering sentiment was Saudi Arabia’s move to raise the OSP, or Official Selling Price, of its U.S.- and Asia-bound crude from January and renewed hints from producer group OPEC and its allies that they may go back to cutting output.

WTI, or the benchmark for U.S. crude, was up $2.68, or 4%, at $68.94 per barrel by 1:30 PM ET (18:30 GMT). WTI hit a four-month low of $62.48 last week, after a seven-year high of $85.41 in mid October.

London-traded crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose $2.64, or 3.8%, to $72.52. Brent fell to $65.80 last week, from a 2014 high of $86.70 in mid-October.

While there was heavy buying among traders sensing a bargain to last week’s lows, some analysts cautioned that the upward momentum could reverse at any time once new Omicron warnings creep back into the market.

“Ultimately, the most bullish thing for prices is that Omicron is reportedly less severe and if