Crude oil prices fell by 4 percent on Monday over rising cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Europe and the United States.
Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, dropped by $3, or 4%, to $70.58 a barrel by 11:00 GMT+1 while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $3.1 or 4.4%, to $67 a barrel.
Over the weekend, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the Omicron variant of COVID-19 will become the “dominant strain” in the coming weeks.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had said Omicron cases are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days with documented spread.
Market analysts believed that the new cases could pose new restrictions on businesses and hit fuel demand.
More to follow…
