Crude oil prices made a decent gain of over one percent on Tuesday despite demand concerns due to the Omicron. As of 1305 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $0.92 (+1.29 percent) to reach $72.44 a barrel. Similarly, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price reached $69.59 a barrel, up by $0.98 (+1.43 percent). The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $74.23 a barrel with a decrease of 0.58 percent, Arab Light was available at $73.93 with a 2.09 percent increase, and the price of Russian Sokol jumped to $74.16 with an increase of 2.09 percent. The surge in oil prices comes at a time when investors are trying to evaluate how long and deep a hit global economic reopening faces from the omicron flareup, as a variety of nations step up mobility curbs. The US’ Texas has reported its first death related to the Omicron Covid-19 variant. It is believed to be the first known recorded Omicron death in the United States. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue. County judge Lina Hidalgo tweeted that the man was the first local fatality from the variant. The Omicron variant of coronavirus threatens to dent oil consumption globally. Governments around the world are tightening restrictions to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. Covid woes escalate in the West and challenge the holiday mood, as well as travel plans and hopes of energy demand linked to that. Denmark and Ireland have imposed new restrictions over the weekend, while other European countries are considering additional curbs. The UK’s health minister Sajid Javid has said he is not ruling out further restrictions for the country before Christmas. The Netherlands went into lockdown on Sunday and the possibility of more Covid-19 restrictions being imposed ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays loomed over several European countries.