Oil falls more than 3% due to doubts about the efficacy of vaccines against the Omicron variant

The oil prices fell more than 3% this Tuesday, after the executive director of Modern questioned the effectiveness of vaccines against Covid-19 against the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which spooked financial markets and increased concerns about oil demand.

At 09:12 GMT, the Brent it was down $ 2.32, or 3.2%, to $ 71.12 a barrel after falling to an intraday low of $ 70.52, its lowest price since Sept. 1.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $ 2.15, or 3.1%, to settle at $ 67.80 a barrel, after falling to a session low of $ 67.06, the lowest level since Aug. 26.

The CEO of the drug manufacturer Modern stated that it is unlikely that Covid-19 vaccines are so effective against omicron as they have been against previous variants.

In addition, the president of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, is scheduled to testify before a hybrid hearing of the US Senate Banking Committee. It is expected to tell lawmakers that the variance could jeopardize the economic recovery.

Oil slumped 12% on Friday along with other markets on fear that omicron will lead to new quarantines and affect global demand for crude. It is not yet clear how severe the new variant is.

With a weak demand outlook, expectations are growing that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and its allies, together named OPEC +, suspend plans to add 400,000 barrels a day to supply in January.