Oil rallied nearly 5% on Monday to $ 76 a barrel, as some investors viewed Friday’s slide in oil and financial markets as exaggerated due to concerns over oil. variante omicron del coronavirus.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that it could take weeks to understand the severity of the variant, a South African doctor who has treated cases said that the symptoms of the variant so far are moderate.
Brent was up $ 3.41, or 4.7%, at $ 76.13 a barrel, after falling $ 9.50 on Friday. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 3.07 dollars, or 4.5%, to 71.22 dollars a barrel, after sinking 10.24 dollars in the previous session.
We saw some corrections as the oil price drop on Friday was exaggerated, “said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior economist at Nomura Securities.
European stocks also rebounded on Monday, while bonds, considered a safe haven, lost ground. Crude oil posted its biggest daily drop since April 2020 on Friday as investors feared measures to contain the virus, such as travel bans, would dampen demand.
“I can’t help but feel like Friday’s lows were probably the bargain of the year whether you’re an oil buyer, speculative or physical,” said Jeffrey Halley of brokerage OANDA.
Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, said on Monday that it would close its borders to foreigners and it joined Israel in taking some of the toughest measures against the variant.
The emergence of omicron has created a new challenge for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC +, which will meet this week to discuss their policies.
The alliance postponed technical meetings this week to have time to assess the impact of omicron on demand, but Russia said it does not see the need for urgent action in the market, downplaying the possibility of changes to its deal.
The oil market is also keeping an eye on Monday’s resumption of talks on the reactivation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which could boost global supply if they come to fruition.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx