Oil prices steady as Omicron caution lingers amid renewed curbs

Oil prices steady as Omicron caution lingers amid renewed curbs

NEW DELHI - Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as fears of tight supply were offset by COVID-19 concerns after Singapore suspended quarantine-free travel and Australia renewed its vaccination push due to a surge in Omicron variant cases. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures edged up 37 cents, or 0.55%, to $71.49 a barrel at 1050 GMT after jumping 3.7% on Tuesday. Brent crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.40%, to $74.26 a barrel after gaining 3.4% in the last session. "The bias is positive over optimistic updates from vaccine maker Moderna ... however the upside looks limited as investors seem to be exercising caution over Omicron-related restrictions," said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said on Tuesday that the vaccine manufacturer does not expect any problems in developing a booster shot to protect against the Omicron variant and could begin work in a few weeks. In another bullish indicator, industry data showed that U.S. crude inventories last week registered a larger-than-expected decline. American Petroleum Institute data showed U.S. crude stocks fell 3.7 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 17, according to market sources, versus a 2.8 million barrel drop that eight