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Brent crude futures fell 1% to $76 a barrel on Friday, coinciding with holiday liquidity tightening and closures due to Omicron as US markets were closed for holidays.
Although Omicron has caused some travel restrictions and increased infections, a British health agency said the mutant was less likely to lead to hospitalization than the Delta strain.
Despite the drop in Brent crude prices, 50,000 Brent crude contracts were traded, indicating that many of those moves cannot be read as on a normal trading day; volumes would be just under a million contracts.
Oil is heading for annual gains after a strong recovery from the pandemic, but the rally faltered recently, in part due to concerns about Omicron. However, there are some signs of a decline in supply, with supply disruptions in Libya and Nigeria, while demand expectations have been boosted in recent days by Positive news about omicron severity.
