Daily Times

Crude oil prices dipped for the second consecutive day on Monday over Omicron fears and resumption of Iran’s nuclear talks. As of 1255 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $0.07 (-0.09 percent) to reach $76.07 a barrel. On the other hand, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price reached $72.77 a barrel, down by $1.02 (-1.40 percent).

The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $74.23 a barrel without any change, Arab Light was available at $77.54 with a 0.92 percent increase, and the price of Russian Sokol jumped to $77.87 with an increase of 1.01 percent.

Oil prices have been retreating since Friday after rallying for three straight sessions. Fresh blow to WTI prices came on Monday after the US airlines called off thousands of flights over the Christmas holidays amid surging Covid-19 cases, though Brent crude gained support from hopes that the Omicron variant will have limited impact on global demand. More than 1,300 flights were cancelled by US airlines on Sunday as Covid-19 reduced the number of available crews while several cruise ships had to cancel stops.

On the other hand, talks between world powers and Iran resumed on Monday on reviving Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal. Iran said that oil exports are the focus of the talks, which so far appear to have made little progress on boosting Iran’s shipments.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) is also set to meet on January 4 to decide whether to go with the proposed increase of 0.4 million barrels of oil per day amid the lockdowns imposed in different countries. 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.