Oil Prices Edge Higher on Optimism over Omicron Impact

Oil Prices Edge Higher on Optimism over Omicron Impact

A well head and drilling rig in the Yarakta oilfield, owned by Irkutsk Oil Company (INK), in the Irkutsk region, Russia, March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko/File Photo

Oil prices edged up on Thursday for a third consecutive session over positive developments around COVID-19, even as China imposed new travel curbs and Australia reinstated restrictions to combat surging cases.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $72.86 a barrel at 0625 GMT after jumping 2.3% in the previous session, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures also gained 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $75.37 a barrel, extending a 1.8% gain in the previous session, it said.

The big gains on Wednesday were partly spurred by a larger-than-expected drawdown in US crude stockpiles last week.

"Oil's direction is entirely reliant on omicron headlines, and as long as they stay more contagious but less virulent, oil's rally is likely to continue, with intra-day ranges exacerbated by thin liquidity," Jeffrey Halley, senior analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

The United States overnight authorized Pfizer Inc's antiviral COVID-19 pill for people ages 12 and older, the first oral and at-home treatment as well as a new tool against the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

Meanwhile, a South African study