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Oil prices fell on Friday, heading towards a slight weekly loss, with an increase in infections with the new Omicron mutant from the Coronavirus, which reinforced fears of imposing new restrictions that may negatively affect demand for fuel, while the decline in the dollar supported commodity markets on a large scale.
Brent crude futures fell 59 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $74.43 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 67 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $71.71 a barrel.
Brent is headed for a 1 percent loss this week, while WTI looks set to end the week flat.
The number of Omicron infections doubled in Denmark, South Africa, and the United Kingdom in just two days. Denmark’s prime minister warned on Thursday that the government may impose further restrictions to curb the Omicron outbreak.
In the United States, the rapid spread of the mutation has led some companies to halt plans to return their employees to the workplace.
The OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia, said it could meet earlier than scheduled on Jan. 4 if changes in demand forecasts called for a revision of its plan to increase supply by 400,000 barrels per day in January.
